Rise of the Sun
by veronica.toon.7
Summary: Guest request: In an alternate timeline, Kion is the younger brother of Kiara, who is soon to become queen of the Pridelands with her consort Kovu. While his sister is destined to rule the Pridelands, he is unsure of what is his part to play in the Circle of Life. Until he stumbles upon an ancient tradition and finds his purpose to become the next leader of Lion Guard.
1. Dawn

**Chapter 1: Dawn**

 **First off, I'm still not taking requests now at the moment, but I have decided to do some of the already requested fics to get them out of the way. Secondly, the only reason why I am doing a request is because the Guest reviewer, which I thank you this idea, has been waiting very patiently for their idea to be done. I hope you think my work made up to your standards.**

 **This is the full length, sequel to my previous story,** ** _Kion's Coming._** **In case you have not read the first one, the timeline is set post-LK2 and where Kion** **is born then instead of in between the first and second movies. The story will go along the Lion Guard movie, but since Kiara is older and has taken Kovu as her consort and the Outlanders are united, there will be some added/altered scenes.**

 **I own nothing. The Lion King and Lion Guard and all their content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

* * *

On bright, sunny days in the Pridelands, there was an aura of tranquility that would often permeate throughout the savanna. The rich air was pleasant to breath and you could not help but relax. A light breeze blew across the tall grasses, making it appear like waves on the ocean.

Peacefulness swept through the animals with the breeze. Predators and birds alike rested in the shade, while hippos lazily paddled in the watering hole. Grazers and browsers took to the plains and trees, feeling comfortable enough to munch on the foliage without fear of being hunted.

In one such area, an antelope chomped down on the tender, sweet grass, a few paces away from the rest of their herd. As they were engrossed with their meal, they did not realize the soft orange blur slinking through the taller grasses towards them. The cat silently moved across the ground on silent feet, barely making a sound that would otherwise surprise their prey.

The predator's red eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of the antelope. Well-fed, medium-sized, just enough to feed several members of the pride. Her body sank lower to the ground, trying to keep level with the shortening grass. The antelope grazed on, unaware that she was just a few feet behind them. The lioness stopped, prepared her front and back legs for launch and acceleration as she countdown the seconds and-

"Kiara!"

The antelope bolted, followed immediately by the rest of the herd. A lioness watched as they fled from her spot, legs splayed from beneath her as result of her missed jump. Her head then swung back behind her, an annoyed expression at the little gold cub that had popped out from the grasses. He scampered out closer to her when he saw that she saw him.

"Wow Kiara, did you see how close that antelope was? You could have touched it. That was so cool," he said excitedly as she picked herself up. She shook the dust out of her coat and sighed down at him.

"Well it would have been even cooler if I had actually caught it and it hadn't been spooked away," she replied. The cub's smile faded and his eyes widened in realization of what he had done. He sat down, bowing his head and lowering his ears in shame.

"Oh. I'm sorry, sis." Kiara sighed again and shook her head before extending a paw and brushing back the tiny red tuft that was just beginning to bloom out on his head.

"It's okay, Kion. Just please try not to scare the prey again when I'm trying to hunt them." His expression perked up again and he nodded his head.

"I promise," he replied.

"Kion! Kion! Are you out there," came a voice from behind the two. Kion stood up and looked in the direction it came from.

"I'm over here, mommy," he called out.

"Right here, mom," Kiara added as a peach-colored lioness came over the hill and ran towards them. She leaned in to nuzzle Kion before staring sternly at him.

"Kion, I thought I told you not to wander off," Nala scolded. Kion's features returned to the way they were a few moments before.

"But mom, I saw a butterfly and I went over to catch it, but then I saw Kiara and I went to go see her and she was really close to this antelope mom, but then it ran away and then you called me and came over-"

"Kion, what did I say about Kiara's hunting," she asked.

He flinched at the stern interruption before replying, "Don't get in the way between Kiara and her hunt." He then looked up, his eyes shining excitedly. "But mom, you should've seen Kiara. She was so close to the antelope. Like really close. And it was a big one too! A really big one!"

"Is that so?" Nala smiled and turned towards Kiara.

She blushed and smiled awkwardly. "It was, um, a good-sized one." A gasp escaped her throat when Kion then leapt onto her back and scrambled up to her head. He grinned wildly while Kiara tried not to complain as his paws dug into her neck and forehead.

"And she almost caught it!"

Nala held back a chuckle at her daughter's expense and nodded. "I'm sure she did dear, but how about you get off your sister and we'll all head back home."

"Aww, but mom, can't we stay out a few more minutes?" She giggled and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not son. Your father was hoping we get back in time so that he could take you, your sister, and Kovu on a further tour of the kingdom. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"I guess," he mumbled, but the disappointment wasn't so concealed on his face.

Kiara let out a snort and tried to look up at her brother. "Hey Kion. How about if you stop standing on my head, I'll let you warthog-back ride me back to Pride Rock.

His enthusiasm was instant. "I want a warthog-back ride," he yelled excitedly as he jumped off her head and then jumped back onto her back before lying down and hugging her shoulders and sides securely. She and their mother let out a chuckle before heading in direction of the great kopje.

* * *

"Dad! Dad," Kion called out excitedly once Simba came into view. He jumped off of Kiara's back and towards their father, nuzzling against his forelegs. Simba smiled leaned down closer to him.

"Hello Kion. You ready to see the Pridelands?"

"You bet." His eyes then spotted the brown lion watching amusedly at him from beside Simba. He trotted over and planted his paws on his.

"Hey Kovu. You excited to see the Pridelands?" Kovu chuckled and patted his head, a bit harder than Simba's though.

"Kion, I see the Pridelands every day on patrol," he replied.

Kion frowned and batted the paw off his head. "But you'll get to see it with dad and Kiara. We'll have lots of fun and we'll see lots of animals and birds and-"

A dusty lioness with bright lilac eyes then strolled closer before placing her paw on his head. "Slow down, squirt. You'll get to see it all on your walk, so don't tire yourself out before you even go on it."

"Don't call me squirt," he replied as he batted her paw off and smoothed down the fur on his head.

She chuckled before turned towards the monarchs and the future ones. "Well, guess I'll see you guys later. Me and the other ladies are going off to catch some dinner." She then took note of Kiara standing beside Nala. "But we'll try not to hunt too much. After all, Kiara had her hunt today."

"And failed it," Kiara replied, looking towards the side disinterested. "Had an antelope right before me and then-" Her eyes darted over to Kion. Vitani gave a small nod before he leaped up before her face.

"You should've seen it, Tani. It was this big." His forelegs stretched as far as they could go while he was on his hind legs, but he quickly lost balance and toppled over. Luckily, her paw shot out and came under him before he could fall onto his back.

"Easy squirt. I bet it was that big. Just try not to tell the prey where your sister is next time."

He nodded and flipped off her paw. "I will."

"Alright, we've got everyone together. Let's get a move on," Simba called. Kion started off towards him but stopped and wheeled around to hug Vitani's foreleg before darting off to join the other.

"Bye guys! See ya later!"

"See ya later, Kion." As the four figures headed off into the plains, Nala came over towards Vitani.

"You know you could join if you want to. You technically are a princess, through your parents and your brother's future marriage." Vitani turned towards her and scoffed.

"Me, a princess? Pfft, not for me! Besides," she sent a toothy grin towards the queen, "those gazelles aren't gonna hunt themselves."

* * *

"So, where we're going dad?"

In all his years of ending arguments between elephants, breaking up fights between the crocodiles and he like, monitoring all the most tedious things, such as the number of dung beetles, and all the times his paws ached from patrols, he would endure it all again just to get his son to stop pestering him on where they were going.

"Eight times."

He perked up and turned to Kovu. who was keeping in a steady stride beside him.

"Eight what?"

"Eight times. Kion's asked you eight times where we were going. You'd better tell him or get us there soon, I don't know how much anticipation he can take."

As Kion kept yammering in his ears, Simba finally decided he was at his limit. Luckily they were there. He flinched a bit when he stopped and Kion bumped into his back leg, but calmed down when he hopped curiously closer to him.

"Dad, why'd we stop?" Simba smiled and directed him towards the top of a grassy hill. The cub scampered up it, confused of why his father would choose such a boring place to stop at. When he reached the top, all previous confused feelings were replaced by sheer awe at the sight before him.

The afternoon sun illuminated the grasslands where gazelles, zebras, and other herd animals grazed. In the watering hole, hippos, flamingos, and egrets gathered and enjoyed the sparkling, crystal-clear waters. In the distance, giraffes and elephants browsed in the tree tops while flocks of multicolored birds flew overhead. Kion had seen the entire Pridelands from on top of Pride Rock before, but never had he ever had the chance to see it so close up.

"Beautiful, isn't it," Kiara asked as she joined by his side.

He gave a small nod, unable to take his eyes off the view. "It's so cool. And you'll get to rule all over this," he replied.

"Mm hmm. It's a big responsibility ruling a kingdom. That's why it takes two lions to do it." She gave a kind smile towards Kovu. He returned it and ruffled his brother-in-law's head.

"But don't worry sport. We'll be fine and so will you. We each have our part to play in the Circle of Life and you'll have your role too." Kion finally broke his gaze away and stared up at him.

"You mean it." When Kovu nodded, he began prancing around with joy. "That's so cool. I can't wait." He then stopped and looked over at his father, who had just joined them. "But what is my role, dad?"

The king looked down with a slightly confused expression. "What?"

"What's my role in the Circle of Life? Kiara and Kovu are going to rule someday, Vitani's part of the hunting party, so what's my part to play?" The king just stared at him before reaching out to pat his head.

"Son, I will be honest with you. I'm not sure what path the great Kings have laid out for you." Noticing his son's expression drooping, he quickly continued. "But I do know that whatever it is, it will play an important role in the Circle of Life. You may not know what it is now and it may take some time to understand it, but when you do realize your part, it will be all yours. Does that make any sense to you?"

"I guess so," he muttered, before gaining a more hopeful face. "I bet when I find out what it is, I'll help out the entire Pridelands with it."

"I'm sure you will son," he replied, before turning to face the view as a breeze wafted over them, blowing through their fur and stirring up the scents of the world around them. Each of them took deep breaths of it and exhaled, feeling peacefulness sweep over them. Kion watched them in curiosity and followed the suit, instantly understand how wonderful it was. He felt calm, yet full of energy. He stopped a few paces ahead until he was right at the very top of the hill, standing in the sunlight. He stuck out his chest and lifted his head up proudly, staring out onto the landscape with a strong, yet hopeful look.

"One day I'll play my part. One day I'll help out the Pridelands and Circle of Life."

* * *

 **I'll be the first to tell you that the story will have major influences from the film, but will be altered greatly to make it feel like your just reading the transcript of the original thing. I thought making the first chapter pre-film and having implications of Kion's future would make it more interesting, rather then how it was just hand-fisted to us in the original.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter, I have more on the way. Please leave a review, feel free to check out some of my other stories, and stay tuned for more chapters. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	2. New Day

**Chapter 2: New Day**

 **We're now on track with the film now, so expect changes, but the somewhat overall plot of the movie.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

* * *

The sun's rays cast golden light over the savanna. The early morning breeze brushed over the grass, making it appear live rippling, green waves. Early risers began to stretch and take in the early morning beauty while those who wished to rest a bit longer dipped their heads further into their beds so that the light may not disturbed the few minutes remaining of their rest. However, those who were early risers immediately took to the day to start on the first agenda of their daily rituals or events needed to take place.

Upon the kopje known as Pride Rock, towering above all else in the Pridelands and soaking up the first sun's light, sat atop two lions. Two lions of the royal family; king Simba and princess Kiara. Both held the same golden pelts as the sun, though the king's was more saturated and his mane was the color of poppies when they blossomed right after the rainy season. Their red eyes looked out proudly onto the awakening landscape before them.

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom, Kiara," he said, his voice filled with wisdom and wonderment. "You've been told this time and time again, but one day, one day very soon, this will all be yours to rule over and protect along with Kovu." He looked over at his nearly full grown daughter and smiled. "And I could not be any prouder of how much you've grown and matured over the years."

The lioness beside him blushed and looked away from him. "Oh dad. Stop it. There's still some time before I become queen of the Pridelands and Kovu as king. Besides, I still have to complete my first _successful_ hunt." Her eyes narrowed playfully at him, earning an eye-roll and a shake of the head. She giggled as he sighed.

"I know, I know. I just can't believe my eldest has grown up so fast. It seems just like yesterday that you were practicing hunting with your friends and getting into mischief. Now you'll be ruling the entire Pridelands in just a few days," he replied, letting out another sigh.

"Dad. You know I'm not a cub anymore. I'm almost old enough to ascend the throne." She then placed a paw on his, making him look up at her while she sent a warm smile at him. "Besides, you still have another cub to enjoy while you can." He nodded and was about to respond when a sudden voice from behind them called out.

"Heads up!"

Simba let out a short yelp of pain and surprise as a baobab fruit came out of nowhere and hit him on the head. A small growl escaped his throat while a paw flew up to Kiara's maw to prevent the giggle trying to come out.

A voice came from behind and Simba once again gritted his teeth in pain as this time a honey badger vaulted over his head. His eyes focused on the two wrestling with each other with the green fruit while Kiara just giggled beside him. Finally, she decided to intervene.

"Kion!"

The honey badger separated from the golden lion cub. He looked up towards his sister and father, then realized what had just happened.

"Oh! Sorry, Dad. Kiara. Me and Bunga were playing baobab ball and-"

"-and Kion couldn't handle the pass," the honey badger quickly finished, smirking towards his friend.

"What? Oh c'mon! A giraffe couldn't handle it. You kicked it way over my head," he protested.

"Kion," Simba began to call out, but was interrupted by the two's banter.

"And you couldn't handle it!"

"Bunga."

"Oh yeah? Try to handle this!" Kion pounced at Bunga, pinning him to the ground. Bunga giggled and flipped Kion over, resuming their wrestling match as the baobab fruit lay beside them just a few feet away. While Kiara all thought it was amusing, Simba had reached the end of his stick.

"Boys!"

The two froze, looking up to the disinterested face of the Pridelands' king. They hurriedly separated and sat before him with guilty expression.

"Kion. Bunga. I need to talk with your sister now. As..."

"The future queen she'll need all the training she can get," Kion finished, rolling his eyes at the end. Simba let out a sigh and continued.

"And as her coronation is approaching soon, she needs to finish up her lessons. She'll be performing her hunting ceremony again today and she needs to stay focused on it," he explained, "and playing baobab ball when she's having her lessons isn't helpful." At the two's shameful expression, she intervened.

"C'mon dad, let the two play around. My queenly lessons have nothing to do with them at the moment," she said. Simba released a sigh and turned back towards her.

"Kiara, as future queen, you need to stay focused. You can't be distracted by small things." She just smiled at him.

"But those two are still young and still have all the time in the word to play and be free," she replied. She then turned towards them and gave a friendly smile. "How about you play baobab ball away from Pride Rock." As their expressions started to lift, she added on, "I bet Kovu would like to join you in your game."

"Yeah," both of them cried out.

"Sweet! Kovu's awesome. He's so cool and so quick," Bunga said. He instantly snatched the baobab fruit and began rushing down the side of Pride Rock, with Kion in tow. Before he had come to the base though, he quickly turned around towards his sister and father.

"Thanks sis. Good luck with your hunting ceremony. See you both later," he called out.

"Bye Kion," she yelled out to him. She then turned to her father and smirked. "And that's how a queen takes charge of a situation." He gave a sigh, but she could see that he was smiling.

"Right," he replied. "Now then, let's go see your mother about the final guidelines of hunting again."

* * *

Out on the lush savanna, everything was bursting with life and excitement. News of the new queen to be crowned soon had spread like wildfire throughout the Pridelands. Expectations of the newest ruler were already being made, as well as her consort. However, things like this didn't particularly interest the two as they raced out into the grasslands, tossing the baobab ball towards each other.

The watering hole soon came into view. Hippos, crocodiles, and fish made up the permanent residents yet a multitude of other creatures could be found, each coming to partake in the cool, refreshing water.

On one of the banks of the watering hole, a brown lion and a tan lioness stopped down to lap up the clear liquid. At the sounds of footsteps and laughter approaching, both quickly looked up and turned back towards the two. Kion skidded to a halt and looked up at them.

"H-hey Kovu. Vitani," he panted out. "I... I was wonder... if you would like to... play baobab ball with me and... Bunga." A paw then reached out and playfully ruffled his mane. Kion swatted it away and glared up at his future-to-be-brother-in-law. Kovu just smiled back.

"Hey Kion. I would love to play with you two, but I can't," he replied.

"Yeah, neither can I. Sorry squirt," Vitani added.

"Aww, but why not," Bunga asked as he came over to Kion's side.

"Well I have to patrol the borders today. Have to make sure that the Pridelands are protected from any possible intruder trying to get in."

"And I can't join you because, one, I don't want to, and, two, Kiara's hunt is today, and no other pride members can be out on the savanna. I don't want to be accused of interfering with her hunt." She paused and then smirked down towards them. "Besides, I want to remain on the future queen's good side if I want to stay in this pride." This drew giggles from the two, before Kion had a thought.

"Wait, does this mean Bunga and I can't play out in the Pridelands today?" Realizing her mistake, she turned her head to Kovu for the answer. Kovu simply shook his head before turning back down and smiling at them.

"Well, as long as you say away from any of the herds and try to stay away from Kiara if you see her, then... I guess it would be alright." He chuckled as their expressions immediately lightened up.

"Sure thing. C'mon Kion, let's go," Bunga said excitedly before snatching the fruit from him and running, Kion immediately in pursuit.

"Thanks! See you two later," he called out from over his shoulder. Kovu smiled as he watched them leave.

"Think they'll keep their word," he asked. A small giggle came up from her.

"If we're lucky. They might be our new younger sibling and his best friend, but in no way we were ever like them."

"Tch. Yeah, it wasn't like they were always going out running and exercising across their homeland and laughing as they play fought just like us when we were cubs. Man, we were complete opposites in our cubhood days." He turned his head far enough to see her smirking and rolling her lilac eyes at him.

"Don't you have a patrol to get to?"

Sighing and shaking his head in disgust, he began to make his way to the edge of the Pridelands, all while sensing his sister stifling a laugh from behind him.

* * *

The Pridelands was truly a unique place. Not only for its harmonious diversity, monarchy and deep respect for the Circle of Life, but the land itself was very special. It was a lush, verdant savanna that was surrounded from all sides either desert, mountains, canyons, or cracked, termite-infested wasteland. It was as if the Pridelands itself was the center for all life while any of its borders was harsh or inhospitable for life.

He was standing now on the edge of the vast desert. His paws were planted on sandy dirt with a few blades of grass sprinkled sparsely everywhere. Behind him was the great grasslands, before him was the sandy dunes stretching for miles. The two environments were so distinct that he was sure that if he was a bird flying overhead he wouldn't even be able to see the thin blurry lines between the two.

His eyes blinked as a hot, dry draft from the desert stung at his eyes. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he quickly turned away and began trekking towards the next section of the border. He watched as the sandy dunes changed into sand-covered rocks, and then into dirt covered rocks. He eventually came across a small river and stopped, taking in the view. A barren wasteland where only tall, pointy boulders, dead trees, and termite mounds stuck out.

Memories of his life in the outlands came back to him. Not as harsh as the desert sun, for there was more shelter, but more so in terms of living. His eyes squeezed shut as the image of a tan, red-eyed lioness briefly flashed through his kind, along with the past whispers in his ears of orders barked at him, harsh criticism, and scrapping claws.

His eyes widened. He took one last glance at his past home for a moment before quickly turning away, facing back to the Pridelands.

Suddenly, and without warning, he felt the hairs on his back rise. As his head turned back to look for any cause of this new feeling, the wind began picking up and started whipping him in the face. His legs lowered him closer to the ground as unexplainable tremors suddenly filled the earth, sky, and everywhere else.

Squinting through the sudden change of the world before him, his face turned up to the sky and his jaw dropped at the sight. The clouds had formed into the exact shape of lions' heads. They gathered close together as the rumbling of the wind grew stronger.

Then he heard it.

Digging his claws deep into the ground, his ears heard the ground of a great roar thundering across the land. His eyes looked up to the sky and he gasped. Each of the lions' mouths were opened and appeared to be roaring. The sound rumbled and echoed everywhere, shattering the stillness and silence of the world and filling it with such strength and power.

As the traces of the mighty roar finished and began fading away, he watched as the lions in the clouds disappear as well. Only until it had completely gone away did he dare stand up completely straight again. He was both inwardly and outwardly moved by the sudden occurrence.

So quickly did a horrible realization come over him. The direction of the roar and the lions' heads. All in the same direction where he had witnessed his younger, soon-to-be brother running towards with his friend just earlier.

Without a moment's hesitation and the memory of the unexplained roar's sheer power and ferocity still fresh in his mind, he bolted towards the part of the Outlands where it was directed. As he sprinted, he fearfully sent out a prayer up to the Great Kings of the Past for the protection, safety, and health for the two.

 _"Great Kings of the Past, please let my brother and his friend be safe. Please let them best safe. Please..."_

* * *

 **You know, doing this chapter based off that scene has got me thinking: how come the Zira and the outsiders weren't aware of Kion and his ability then instead of later in the series? In that episode when Zira and the others are blasted away to their home in the Outlands that was their home in the movie, then where was their home before before that? I'm not talking about the place where they took over Jasiri's home, but where they were before that? Unless they were way outside of the Pridelands, then there should be no reason to why Zira was so surprised to meet the next holder of the Roar of the Elders.**

 **Aside from that, what really irks me when Nuka asks where they are after he and the rest are blasted to their home in Simba's Pride and Zira replies it is their new home. Okay, unless this was their home before before, Nuka is just confused from the sudden flight, and Zira is just clarifying that their old old home us their new home, then by no means is the series related to the second movie at all.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, especially you, the Guest reviewer who requested it. I have more on the way, so stay tuned till then. Please leave a review and feel free to check out some of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	3. Chosen

**Chapter 3: Chosen**

 **Hey guys, thank you so much for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I decided to get this chapter done earlier so you wouldn't have to wait too long. I would also like to thank reviewer Calvin for their ideas for my story. While I will not be using a good chunk of the ideas, do to most of the script already being planned out, I will add some of their's into the story. Thanks Calvin, and if any of you other readers have an idea that you want to have incorporated into this story, send me a review or PM and we'll see if we can work it out. Also, I'd like to thank Rogue Lion for their encouraging review. I really appreciate it.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

* * *

His muscles burned as he tore across the savanna, yet he didn't care. The mid-morning sun blazed against his dark pelt, yet he didn't care. His lungs ached as he sucked in fresh air as he ran, yet he still didn't care. All he cared about now was heading to the edge of the Outland's gorge to put his fears to rest, to reassure himself that his young brother-in-law was alright.

His heart almost stopped in shock once he saw Kion and Bunga at the very edge of the canyon, looking down into it. The two nearby jumped down into it in surprise as a very winded Kovu halted before them.

"K-Kion... B-Bunga, " he panted out, "are you... alright?" He nearly melted in relief right there at the spot when they nodded.

"Yeah, it's... it's just we don't know what just happened now," Kion explained, before Bunga leaped onto him and leaned close to Kovu's face.

"Zuka Zama! You just missed it! Kion just roared away those hyenas in the Outlands when they were trying to eat me and-,"

"-it probably wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come into the Outlands in the first place," he finished, figuring out the cause of this. Both their eyes fell and they shuffled their legs awkwardly.

"Well, y-yeah, but-"

"It was all my fault," Kion intervened, stepping up. "I should've been firmer when I told him he shouldn't have gone in there."

"Yes, you should've. The Outlands are an incredibly harsh and dangerous place. I should know," he sighed, "because I lived there once." Both of them lifted their heads back up on surprise.

"You did? But I thought you always lived in the Pridelands," Kion asked.

"Yeah. What was it like living in the Outlands? Why were you living there in the first place," Bunga added. He shook his head.

"I'm afraid it is a long story and will have to wait for another time." Before they could protest in disappointment, he quickly hurried to the next point. "What's important now us that you're both safe. However," he looked directly at Kion, "what was the roar about?"

"I don't know. I've never been able to do anything like that before. I haven't even seen dad roar that powerfully," he admitted. Kovu sighed and extended a paw to pat his head.

"Well maybe Simba will know what the deal is with that new roar of yours. C'mon, let's go and see him." Both of the nodded and began following. Noticing their slightly dampened moods, he suddenly halted and lowered himself down.

"I can even give you guys a ride to Pride Rock if you like."

Both of their faces lightened up again and they leaped onto his back. "Hei ho, Kovu," Bunga cried out, grasping onto a few locks of his mane and pulling, making him wince.

"Ouch. Careful Bunga. I'm a lion remember, not a zebra."

"That's right. Be nice to the future king, Bunga," Kion added.

"You got it," he replied as Kovu began charging across the grasslands once more.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Pride Rock the entire pride had assembled on top. They had heard the roar echoing across the Pridelands and now had come together to find out what it was and where it came from. Kiara's hunt had already been canceled, yet she didn't care. She was more concerned for her brother and fiancé coming home safely.

"Oh, where could they be," she asked to no one in particular as she scanned the land from her spot. She flinched as she felt a paw gently touch hers. Her head looked over her shoulder to see her mother by her side.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon, sweetie," she said, offering reassurance. Just then, they both perked up at the sound of joyous, wild laughter. All eyes turned to the side of Pride Rock where the mandrill shaman was coming up. He came over to Kiara first and shook at finger at her face.

"Yes indeed. They'll be back very soon and when they do, the destiny of the youngest cub of Simba will be revealed," he explained. Simba came over to his wife and daughter's side and all three of them stared in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Rafiki," Simba asked. He flinched as the shaman suddenly lurched forward and grasped Simba's shoulders before leaning his head in close.

"The Roar, Simba. The Roar," he explained.

"Wait," Kiara asked. "Are you saying that that was Kion's roar?"

"Yes, princess, yes! He is ready! It is time," he replied before starting to leap around and whoop joyfully.

"Time," Simba asked in confusion. "Time for what?" Rafiki stopped his celebrating and came closer to him. His staff came out and pointed towards his face.

"You know Simba. You know. Remember, the stories of lions past? The ones your father used to tell you?" Simba stared in confusion for a few moments before his eyes grew wide with realization.

"I... don't seem to recall. What stories," he asked. Rafiki shook his head and leaned in closer to him.

"Simba, Simba, Simba. You know. Remember, the stories of the protectors of the Pridelands? Those who defend the Circle of Life!" Simba continued to stare confusedly at him before his face softened with understanding.

"The Lion Guard?"

"Haha," Rafiki cried, pointing at the king's face. "He knows, he remembers! Haha!"

"Rafiki, what-"

"He is ready Simba!"

"Who's ready? Ready for what," he asked, beginning to lose his patience with him.

"Your son is ready to lead the Lion Guard. He has been chosen by the Pridelands' ancestors to defend the Circle of Life!"

Kiara just stared weirdly at him and tried to ask. "Rafiki, what are you-"

"Rafiki, you cannot be serious. Kion, he's... he's just a cub," Simba protested. Rafiki simply shook his head and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Simba, Simba. You heard the Roar. You remember the stories. It is his destiny."

"I did hear it. It's just...," he paused and looked down at his feet, "if I remember correctly, it's a big responsibility. He'll need more time to prepare."

"Prepare him for what," Kiara asked as her mother came to his side.

"I think you've just run out of time Simba. You need to tell him."

"Tell him what," Kiara asked again.

"But, Nala," he started to protest.

"Listen to Rafiki, Simba," she firmly replied.

Rafiki nodded and came closer to him. "Kion is ready. It is time."

"Time for what," came a voice from beside Pride Rock. All eyes turned to the lion cub riding on Kovu's back before he jumped down and stood before his father. "Mom? Dad? Rafiki? Kiara? What's going on?"

"That's what I've been asking, little brother," Kiara sighed. Simba inhaled deeply and came closer to him.

"Son, we need to talk-" His response was immediate.

"Oh no. Dad, we already had that talk," he frantically replied, backing way nervously from him. " _Can you feel the love tonight_. I know all about that mushy stuff!" Simba blushed and laughed sheepishly before shaking his head.

"I... Well... It's not that, Kion," he quickly replied. Rafiki then stood up and nodded.

"Most definitely not that," he reached out and pointed towards Kion's face. "We have heard your Roar." Kion looked a bit bewildered at the mention of the roar being brought up and he dipped his head and rubbed his legs awkwardly.

"Yeah. It was, uh, kinda different today," he admitted. Rafiki turned up his head and laughed joyously.

"Different? Different you say? Ha ha! It is more than different. It is the Roar of the Elders!"

"The what now," Bunga asked, looking to Kiara for the answer. Her face showed just as confused he was.

"The Roar of the Elders! A powerful ability to have, for when you use it, the great lions of the Pridelands' past roar with you, lending you their strength in your time of need." While Rafiki's voice and expression were filled with wonder and excitement, Kion's and almost everyone else were beyond disoriented and discombobulated.

"Wait, wait, wait. So, let me see if I got this. When I roared, the great lions of the past roared me too," Kion asked. Rafiki smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Kion. The Roar of the Elders is a great gift, Kion. It will make you the fiercest animal in the Pridelands. And-"

"Wait," Kion called out, his voice almost leading. "Please wait. I-I don't understand any of this. Why did I receive this ability? Why am I receiving it just now? Why happening? Is this my role in the Circle of Life or is this-"

"Kion!" Kion stopped talking and remained silent. He looked up at his dad, full of worry and confusion. Simba took note of his son's appearance and calmly extended a paw to give him a soothing pat on the head. He kept petting until Kion had stopped panting and looked a little less overwhelmed.

"Kion, I believe it is time I told you about the Lion Guard."

"The Lion Guard," he asked, looking back up at him. "What's that?"

Kiara nodded and stepped up closer to them. "Yes dad. Just what exactly is this 'Lion Guard'? And what is 'the Roar of the Elders'? I don't recall you ever telling us about it, so what exactly is happening now and why is it all just happening right now?" Simba looked at them for a moment before sighing and turning towards the steps.

"This way, Kion. Kiara, Kovu, Bunga. You come as well."

* * *

"Dad, where are we? What is this place? It doesn't look like anyone's been here in forever. What's going on?"

The four lions, honey badger, and shaman monkey had now entered a cave underneath Pride Rock, obscured from the outside world by some dangling vines. The room was shrouded in dust and cobwebs, making it appear abandoned and forgotten. Rafiki hopped up ahead a raised his staff to a hole in the ceiling where faint amounts of sunlight were trickling through. In a flash of light, the cave illuminated and the wind blew through, clearing away much of the fallen debris. While the newcomers remained awestruck and silent, he hopped over to a nearby wall and tapped it with his staff to get their attention.

"What is this," Kion asked as he observed the cavern. He flinched back in surprise, but then peered in curiosity and awe as the pictures on the walls grew wider and appeared to come to life.

"This, son, is Lion Guard Lair. It's the secret meeting place for the members of the Lion Guard."

"But what is the Lion Guard," he whined, "and how come I haven't even heard about the before now?"

"All of your answer will be answered in a moment. As for your first question, the Lion Guard is the team that protects the Pridelands and defends the Circle of Life. According to tradition, the Lion Guard is composed of the Pridelands' fiercest, bravest, fastest, strongest, and keenest of sight. It is also stated that the second heir to the throne shall lead the Lion Guard. And now," he leaned his head down close and pressed a paw to his son's chest, "you have been chosen to take on that role."

"Me," he gasped out. His jaw dropped, and he shook his head in disbelief as Simba nodded.

"Yes son. Starting today, you are the leader of the new Lion Guard. It is a great responsibility to take, yet I have faith that you will make us all proud."

"Whoo hoo! Congratulations Kion," Kiara cheered, coming up to wrap her paw around his shoulder. Kovu followed the suit, unable to hide the grin on his face.

"Yeah, way to go sport." However, while his siblings and best friend were all celebrating for him, Kion just stood there stunned, his mind unable to process the great honor bestowed upon him.

"I- I don't believe it. I'm going to defend the Pridelands?!" When his father nodded to confirm, he rushed over to him and wrapped his forelegs around his father's much larger one. "Thanks dad. I promise I won't let you down. I'll be the best Lion Guard leader ever!"

"I'm sure you will son. I'm sure you will," Simba replied, leaning down to nuzzle him.

"Kion! Look," Bunga suddenly cried out. They all turned to where he was hopping right before a section of the wall and pointing at its surface. "It's you. You're on the wall." His eyes rose higher and they widened along with his mouth. "Wow, look at all the Lion Guards." Above the picture of Kion that had just appeared was a multitude of lions painted on the walls. Each of them were different, with different colored markings, manes, and pelt hues, but all of them had one thing in common. One lion stood out bigger from the rest while the rest of the team were smaller and stood around him.

"That's amazing," Kiara breathed out as she stared transfixed at the paintings.

"Heyvi kabisa," Kion added on, looking first at the rest of the guards before looking at his very own portrait.

"Hey, check it out guys. Look!" Bunga leapt onto a rock beside the wall and pointed at a Lion Guard that stood a bit farther away from the rest. This one stood out with more details put on the members, as well a few more color varieties in their manes and facial features. Above the four stood the leader, standing proud and tall above the rest. His appearance wasn't very much different from theirs, except for a black line swiped across his left eye.

"This one kind of looks like you, Kovu. When were you in the Lion Guard," he asked. The dark brown male just shook his head and peered closely at the picture.

"No. No, I was never in any Lion Guard. That's not me up there. However, it does look pretty famili-"

He cut himself off abruptly, making everyone stare at him in confusion. "Kovu?"

"S-Simba," He stuttered out, suddenly shrinking back and staring frightfully at the picture. "Who- who is that?" Simba turned and noticed the picture. He too felt a wave of anxiety fall upon him, but kept his cool and released the tension with sigh before turning towards Rafiki and nodding.

"Everyone, gather around and let old Rafiki tell you the tell of the previous Lion Guard." The shaman paused for a moment before bowing his head. "A story that I'm fear does not have a happy ending." He touched his staff to a separate part of the wall, causing the pictures to illuminate and grow more colorful. The move along as he weaved his tale together. Simba started off the story.

"Many moons ago, back when the Pridelands first began, the first lion took charge over the animals and became their king. The first king of the Pridelands. However, as it was a time when when harmony had not yet been completely established among the Pridelands inhabitants, chaos and disorder ran amuck across the land.

"In order to keep the balance between his subjects, as well as the pride, the first king chose a member of his pride, his younger brother, to aid in restoring the peace. His brother also called upon others in the pride in the mission to establish the Circle of Life within everyone. That first group of lions became what is known today as the Lion Guard. Following generations took on the tradition, with the second-born of each royal pair to take up the role of leading the Pridelands defenders. Many moons passed then, since the first Lion Guard rose up to more recent teams. They have sworn to protect the Pridelands and have brought much good and happiness to it."

The king paused and averted his eyes for a moment. "But not all of them have turned out as they were meant to be."

"And that is where our story begins." The wooden staff touched the drawing of the guard, bringing it to life. "The previous Guard fell into ruin, and all by the leader. The one who's evil and name is as clear as the mark on his face." The figure appeared to squint at the observers, before the corners of his mouth lifted up sinisterly.

"Scar," Kion breathed out, beginning to shrink away as he felt the evil picture's gaze land on him.

"Yes. When he was about your age, Scar became the leader of the Lion Guard. Yet he was not known as 'Scar' back then, for the mark on his eye had not appeared yet. Instead, he was known simply as Taka, Mufasa's, your grandfather's, younger brother.

With every Lion Guard leader he had inherited the Roar of the Elders, a powerful gift, capable of doing great good, but also terrible evil if used not for its intended purpose. When Taka realized the great power he had at his disposal, he realized it could be used for other things. The power went to Taka's head and he soon believed that he should be king instead of his older brother. So he ordered the rest of the Lion Guard to take Mufasa down. They refused him, turning away from their leader in his mad state of mind."

Rafiki's head dipped down and his face grew solemn. "Furious at his team's betrayal to him, Taka used the Roar upon his own team, destroying them in the process. However, he did not realize that by using the Roar for evil, he would lose the power of the Roar completely. Forever."

All eyes turned towards the picture beside the image of him blasting away his teammates. The mark of the Lion Guard had faded away from his shoulder and the spot where it had been appeared duller then the rest of his body. Scar's formed curled around himself as his face portrayed the sense of agony and lost he must have felt all those seasons ago.

"Yet Taka wasn't through just yet. In the midst of his team destruction, he had gained a scar across his left eyes. Naming himself after this reminder of the past, he sought to claim the throne from Mufasa once more."

"Hold on," Kiara suddenly interrupted, bringing all the attention towards her. "If Scar had taken down his own team, then why didn't anyone suspect that he took down Mufasa in the first place? And looking past that for a second, why wasn't Scar exiled for his treasonous actions?"

"Ahh, you have an observant ears and mind, princess. Indeed, Scar should have been found out for his own actions and brought to justice, yet as we all well know, Scar had a devious mind. Though we did not know about it at the time, before returning back to the pride, he first rolled around in the dust and mud and crawled through thorn bushes the give himself the appearance of one thrown into a dangerous fight. He approached the pride and acted as if the Guard had already been destroyed by an unseen threat. He said that they had been outnumbered and he was the last of his team standing. He had used the roar to blast them away out of his rage and grief and by doing so he had lost his powers."

"And they just bought that," Kovu asked, disbelief and shock flooding his voice. Rafiki nodded.

"Indeed so. They believed the new change in behavior and the renaming was out of his grief for the loss of his team. Aside from that, had anyone thought that he was lying about his story, Mufasa would have refused to exile him. He believed that his brother wouldn't do such a heinous thing like that. So Scar was allowed to remain in the pride." The shaman gave another pause and sighed. "And of course you all know the rest of the story."

"Zuka Zama. How could anyone do something so cruel to their own family and friends," Bunga asked, acting as the innocent voice in all this mess.

"No one knows what caused him to travel down the path of deception and darkness, but as painful as these memories are, they need to be kept. For without our history we are doomed to repeat our mistakes," Rafiki replied, nodding towards Simba.

"He's right. Kion," he said, alerting his son back to him. "I need you to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what, you won't follow in Scar's footprints. The roar is a very powerful ability and a very important responsibility to bear. Promise me you won't use the roar for evil or for selfish purposes, but to use its strength to aid the creatures of the Pridelands and to defend the Circle of Life."

"I will dad." The cub flinched when his father's paw came to rest on his shoulder.

"Don't just promise me, son. Promise yourself that. I want you to happy and safe, but I also want to see everyone else happy and safe too. So, for not just my sake or your yours, but for everyone, promise me you'll take responsibility with this new role."

Kion stared at his father hard. He could see the concern and worry on his face, but when he looked into his eyes, he noticed something very much off about them. In his pupils, he could see fear within them. _"He's afraid I'll turn out just like Scar."_ At that moment, Kion became determined to put his father's fears to rest. He would prove to his father that he would be responsible and take his role seriously. He would show that he would lead the Lion Guard and defend the Circle of Life.

"I promise you, dad. I will never be like Scar. Ever."

Simba gaze lingered on his face for just a moment more before he softened and playfully ruffled his son's head.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well then, son I hereby dub you the new leader of the Lion Guard. And, as leader of the Guard, it is your duty to assemble the Pridelands' bravest, fastest, strongest, and keenest of sight. I trust you will choose wisely and select only the best and most capable members for the team."

The cub nodded his head, his legs already twitching in excitement. "Okay, Dad. I got it! Don't worry. I'm gonna make you proud!"

"I'm sure you will, son. Now go," Simba said, before watching him scamper off. He suddenly felt a pat to his foreleg and turned down towards grinning honey badger.

"Mm? Yes, Bunga?"

"This is un-bunga-lievable," Bunga replied gleefully before charging after him, leaving the three lions and Rafiki behind.

"You see, Simba? And now Kion will choose the best lions in the Pride for the Guard," he said, coming closer towards the king. His smile faded and went back to concern.

"I hope so, Rafiki. I'm still not sure he's ready," he admitted.

"Oh, stop your worrying, dad. Kion will do just fine. He's been waiting forever to find his purpose in life and now that he knows what it is, no doubt he'll take it seriously," Kiara reassured, coming forward to deliver a nuzzle.

"Kiara's right. Kion's a great cub and he always means well." He came in closer, his expression sobering a bit. "Rest assure you that history won't repeat itself. Not so long as I'm here to support and watch over him."

"The two speak wise words, Simba," Rafiki added. His hands went to touch each of their shoulders. "They have been taught well under you and no doubt Kion has been as well. There are great things in his future that he will pursue, just as long as you allow him to follow after his heart." Simba let out a sigh and shared a smile with them.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. Kion is old enough to start taking on things on his own."

"Exactly. And even if he stumbles, we'll be right there beside him to pick him back up and back him up," Kovu agreed. "Now c'mon, let's go alert the pride of the newest Lion Guard leader."

"I'll go out and see if I can help with the celebratory feast. With my brother's new position, if I can complete my first hunt and bring something back for him, then this will be the best day ever for the both of us."

"What? Upendi wasn't the best day ever," Kovu asked. Kiara just snorted and rolled her eyes before replying.

"I'll have you know that it was at night when it happened, thus it was not the best day ever, but the best night ever. So ha!" She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and he gasped in fake astonishment.

"Oh really. C'mere you!" Kiara squeaked before giggling as Kovu toppled her to the ground and began mercilessly tickling her with his paws. While the two soon changed into a wrestling pile, Rafiki began laughing while Simba just stared in confusion before releasing another sigh, shaking his head, and rolling his eyes.

 _"Still cubs at heart."_

* * *

 **Okay, I understand that there may be some confusion about this chapter, so allow me to explain. First off, Kion has very vague knowledge about the former Outsiders. In this story he knows very little about them, only bits and pieces he's heard from overheard conversations, so finding out Kovu used to to live in the Outlands does come as a shock to him. He'll find out the truth later.**

 **Secondly, Simba isn't as informed about the Lion Guard as he was in the film. This is do to the fact that I believe if he had known, then technically in the first film as a cub I would've expected him to be a bit more excited around his uncle, asking him to tell him more about his glory days as the Lion Guard leader. Here he's not at all clueless about the Lion Guard, like with Kion and the Outsiders, but he has limited memories about being told about them. Rafiki is the one with the most extensive knowledge about them, this is the one to explain. Hope you enjoyed that further history dive.**

 **Thirdly** **, a thing the movie really missed out on was the development of pre-established characters. Having Simba worry about Kion and about the Lion Guard ending how it did with Scar's would've really given us an insight into his personality. It would've also mixed in with the continuity of him worrying about his children from the second film. The writers missed out on what could've been an excellent chance of exploring our characters more, but I'll further discuss it in later chapters.**

 **Anyways** **, please leave a review, feel free to check out some of my other stories, and stay tuned for the next chapter. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	4. Assembling

**Chapter 4: Assembling**

 **Major thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. I'd like to give a shout out for Lord demon for their idea. Thanks for the review and the idea. We're back with a new chapter and a noticeable change with, well, the assembling of the Guard.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

A yellow blur streaked across the Pridelands, leaving behind a trail of dust in its wake. The young cheetah outpaced all else, and she loved it. The wind streaking through her fur, the adrenaline that pumped through her as she ran. Sometimes she almost felt like she could fly, the air carrying her across the grasslands.

Grinning, she sped up the hill and jumped off the top. Her legs tucked in and she rolled through the air, reveling in the feeling of weightlessness. Her eyes closed for just a moment as she relaxed at the swift experience as she began heading back to earth. Before her head could hit the ground, her eyelids popped open and she quickly finished her roll, her paws touching the ground before her back. She was off again, an acrobatic speedster across the savanna.

"Fuli!"

Her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of her name being called. Her eyes swiveled back over her shoulder and she squinted through the kicked-up dirt. A flash of gold and red caught her eyes and she recognized the voice's owner.

She jumped up again, only this time upright instead of forward. The pull from her speed's direction sent her through the air and back a few feet, but in that short period of time she tucked her in limbs, head and tail and spun, somersaulting first before twisting halfway. Her legs sprung out and she stretched out her claws as far out as they were. They dug into the earth, clawing into it as she skidded. The dust cloud streamed towards her and her head bowed to protect her face. When she felt it had cleared, she shook the excess off her and stood up straight, panting as she looked at the two newcomers.

"Hey Kion. Bunga. How's it going," she asked between breaths. The two rushed up to her, also out of breath from trying to catch up to her.

"F-Fuli," Bunga breathed out. "Y-you'll never going to believe it. K-Kion... he's... he's..."

"I've been selected," Kion added in, also panting his words out, "to... be the new leader... of the... Lion Guard."

"Lion Guard," she asked, staring in a mixture of confusion and amusement at him. "What's that?"

"It's-"

"It's the leader that protects the Pridelands from danger! A-and there so cool. Simba even gave Kion that position," Bunga interrupted, popping up suddenly between the two cats.

"Bunga," Kion groaned, brushing him out of the way before looking back at her. "So yeah. What Bunga said. Dad gave me the title as the leader of the Lion Guard. I will lead the Lion Guard to defend the Pridelands the Circle of Life." His chest stuck out and his chin lifted up proudly as his spoke. He waited for her amazed reply, but instead looked confusedly as she gave a small chuckle.

"The Lion Guard? Heh, you lions are so proud. Always lording over us and now you're guarding us." Kion frowned and his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, until Bunga hopped up between them again.

"Yeah, but he's got a team that helps him protect the Pridelands too! He's going to assemble them and they'll go on adventures and mission and-"

A paw shot out and planted on Bunga's mouth, cutting him off abruptly. "I get that Bunga, I just think maybe that some other animals should have a chance at being the best or having some powerful position. It's not fair that you lions get to rule and make the major decisions for the Pridelands. I mean, I'm not saying that you guys are doing anything bad, just that you could let some other creatures take care of the land and make their own choices every once in a while."

"I couldn't agree more with you Fuli, so that's why I need to ask a favor of you. Would you mind running and getting Ono and Beshte? Tell them to meet us at the Watering Hole, since there's something I wanted to discuss with them." Fuli looked strangely at him for a moment before nodding.

"Mm, sure. Why not?"

"Thanks. Me and Bunga we'll see you guys there in just a little bit."

* * *

"So... why'd Kion assemble us here again," Ono asked, a bit irritably. He had been in the middle of a mid-morning nap in the sun when suddenly Fuli had appeared and told him that he had been summoned to the Watering Hole by the prince of the Pridelands.

"I don't know, he just told me to get you guys and bring you here," Fuli replied.

"Well, whatever it is, I bet it's important," Beshte offered. The happy-go-lucky hippo was floating comfortably in the Watering Hole. He was the easiest to find because he was already present there.

"Did Kion mention anything else," Ono asked.

"He did mention something about 'the Lion Guard'," she offered.

"Lion Guard? Whoa, that sounds very important. But, uh, what is it exactly," Beshte asked.

"Not sure. All I know is that Kion said it's group that defends the Pridelands." She then let out a small raspberry. "Pretty sure the Pridelands are going to need it when the new king and queen step up."

"What do you mean? I'm sure Kovu and Kiara can handle disputes and defend the Pridelands when their time comes," Ono offered. Fuli shot him a slightly disinterested look.

"Yeah, but they can't handle every single thing that comes into their borders, at least not with help from the pride. You've heard of the recent hyena sightings, haven't you?" As the two nodded, she continued. "Besides, Kovu's probably going to be doing most of the defending and fighting anyways. Kiara's not good at that kind of things. She can't even hunt properly."

"True, but I'm getting better."

Fuli froze when she heard a nearby voice addressing her. She saw the other two before her gasp and lower their heads in respect to the figure behind her. Slowly, Fuli turned her head around and her green eyes met with the red ones of the next queen herself.

"Queen Kiara," she gasped out, turning around completely and attempting to bow like the rest. "I- I-"

She became silent when Kiara held a paw up to her face. "No need to apologize, Fuli. I'm aware that my hunting skills could definitely need some work." She paused for a moment, before smirking. "However, I should note that living my childhood mostly sheltered by my parents and refrained from exploring the Pridelands whenever I pleased definitely left some lacking development in my hunting skills."

"R-right, I'm sorry," Fuli apologized. She looked up again when she felt a paw gently tap her shoulder.

"All is forgiven. Now," she said, changing her tone and looking at the entire group. "What are you all doing here today?"

"Well, your highness," Ono spoke up, giving a respectful bow to the princess, "your brother has requested that we meet up here and wait for him and Bunga to come."

"It's just Kiara, but thank you Ono. Now, did Kion say anything on why he wanted you gathered here?"

"No, but he said something about the Lion Guard," Beshte said. Kiara's eyes lit up with understanding and she nodded. "So, um, Kiara. Why are you here exactly?"

"Oh, I just came to get some water and seeing you here I just decided to come over and see what was happening." She paused for a moment, before adding, "Besides, my hunting practice hasn't been going to well and so I decided to take a small break from it."

The three nodded, though Ono took a step further and fluttered closer to her. "Don't worry your-, I mean, Kiara. I'm sure you'll get better soon."

"Thank Ono. I hope so, I've already had to redo my hunting ceremony three times now and I do not want to make it four," she replied.

"Well maybe the fourth one will be the charm," came another voice from behind them and the Prideland's prince came into view. "And Fuli can help you hunt better if you want."

"What," asked the cheetah, but Kiara quickly intervened.

"I appreciate the suggestion Kion, but the hunting ceremony is done solitarily. I have to go out and catch prey all by myself to prove myself worthy as a huntress." She paused, then smiled at him. "But enough about that. How are you today? How's being the new Lion Guard leader feeling?"

He smiled and puffed out his chest proudly. "It's awesome. I can't believe I'm going to be defending the Pridelands."

"Neither can we," Fuli teased, drawing out some muffled giggles from the group. He glared at her, but let it go.

"So Kion, you wanted to meet us here," Beshte noted Kion nodded and stood up straight again.

"Yes I did, Beshte. First off, I want to thank you for meeting with me. Secondly, I was just made the leader of the Lion Guard today. It's a team that protects the Pridelands and defends the Circle of Life. I have been tasked with assembling the team and well... I need your help."

"Help with what exactly," Fuli asked. Kion paused for a moment, before smiling at them.

"After careful consideration, I've decided to make your guys part of the new team as the strongest, fastest, and keenest of sight. I've already made Bunga the bravest and I'm the fiercest. Together, the five of us we'll protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life."

The others faces grew surprised, though some of them quickly changed to joy. Ono whistled and smiled, though it didn't compare to Beshte's.

"Wow. What an honor," Beshte gasped out.

"You can say that again." Ono turned his head back to Kion and bowed it. "I am more then happy to accept the offer."

"Same goes for me," Beshte agreed.

"This is so awesome," Bunga cheered. "We'll all get to fight hyenas. And jackals! And crocodiles and vultures! Or great big rock slides, wildfires, or floods! Or... or..."

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute," Fuli called out, drawing everyone's attention to the only animal who was not celebrating. "The Lion Guard, Kion? Doesn't it seem a bit weird that you've chosen us, a cheetah, hippo, egret, and honey badger, to join a team with the name _Lion Guard_ when there's only one lion?" Though initially surprised by her logic, he lost his shock and stated his reasons.

"Well, that's what it has been called for all the previous generations, all of which have been made up of lions. However, I think it's time for a change. We all are the Prideland's best at what we do, at being fast or being the strongest. It makes sense that only the most capable of creatures should be protecting the Pridelands. Besides," he paused and shuffled his feet awkwardly, "there's not really any lions in the pride that fit the exact requirements."

"I'm sure some of the older ones would have been good for the job," Fuli muttered through her teeth. Kiara just smiled and placed a paw on her brother's shoulder.

"Well I'm sure that Kion's decision to make each of you part of the new Lion Guard team is the best one. As future queen of the Pridelands, I approve of his choice," Kiara proudly said. The cub turned his face up towards hers and gave a grateful smile.

"Thanks sis." He then turned towards the others. "So will you guys join the Lion Guard."

"Count me in, Kion," Bunga said.

"Sure thing," Beshte agreed.

"Same here," Ono added. All eyes then turned to the quiet cheetah.

"Fuli," Kion asked. She looked up at him, staring for a few moments, before sighing.

"Sure. Why not," she replied nonchalantly.

"Great," Kion said, before standing up proudly. "Then I name you the new Lion Guard. Come and let's go protect the Pridelands from harm." He was met with cheers from the newly-formed team. They then started to walk off from the Watering Hole, when suddenly something pushed down on Kion's tail, making him stop and look back sat his sister's paw.

"Kiara," he groaned. She slowly removed her paw.

"Hold on there, bro, but there's one last thing you guys need to do before you become the official Lion Guard team," she said. He and the others stopped and turned their heads in confusion.

"Really, what," he asked. She patted his head before standing up.

"You need to get dad's approval before he decides you are ready. C'mon," she nodded her head and began walking off, "I think I know exactly where he is right now."

"We're going to see the king," Ono said in surprise. "Hapana! Quick! Beshte, do my feathers look alright? Do you think I look presentable to the king?"

"You look just fine, Ono. Besides, king Simba is nice. I'm sure he'll be impressed with you as the Lion Guard's new keenest of sight." The egret sighed and fluttered up again.

"I sure hope so."

"Hey, don't worry about old Simba. Besides, he's on great terms with my uncles, Timon and Pumbaa. I'm sure he'll accept your right on the spot," Bunga reassured.

* * *

They soon found Simba patrolling the border, along with Kovu. The pair seemed to be deep in conversation, but as soon as they saw Kion and the rest approaching they turned to greet them.

"Dad! Dad! Am I glad to see you! Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what," he repeated, trembling with joy, until Simba held up a paw to slow him down.

"Easy there son. I can tell you're very excited about something. Just take a deep breath and tell me what it is." The cub obeyed and stood proudly before his father.

"I've assembled the Lion Guard, dad," he replied, looking accomplished. Simba smiled, though his expression had hints of surprise.

"Really? Well then, I commend your efforts son. Now, where's the Guard so that I may official name then Guard members." He checked behind his son, only for the traces of surprise to make themselves more known. However, Kion was oblivious to his father's confusion and instead bounded over to them.

"Dad, I like to introduce you go the new Kion Guard. Fuli, the fastest. Beshte, the strongest. Ono, the keenest of sight. And Bunga, the bravest. Say hi to my dad, everyone." The group of animals obeyed and bowed before the king. Simba just looked at them, then to his son's expression, full of confidence in his choice. It would be hard to correct him.

"Son, I am glad that you are invested into being leader of the Lion Guard," he paused and breathed deeply, "but you must really take this seriously. According to tradition, the Lion Guard has always been made of lions. It has been that way for generations." Kion frowned and stepped closer to him.

"But dad, I am taking this seriously. I do know there are other lions in the pride, I just," he paused and looked down at his feet, "I just don't think they're what the Lion Guard needs."

"And why do you think that, Kion," Kovu asked, coming up to Simba's side. Kion's head slowly rose up again to meet theirs. He took a deep breath before explaining.

"I know us lions have always ruled over and protected the Pridelands, but I do know they can also be proud and boastful about their positions. The Pridelands isn't just a home for us," he looked back and smiled at his friends, "it's a home for every one of us. We're all proud to call the Pridelands are home and want to maintain the balance and protect it, but does it always have to be lions doing it for us?

"I doubt anyone would be able to run as fast as a cheetah,or see like an egret. I haven't seen any lion as strong as a hippo or as brave as a honey badger. I have seen fierce lions and ones with some of those traits, but they aren't as good as the others here."

Kion paused and moved closer. He sat down and looked up at his father, his face almost pleading. "Dad, I know that traditions should be kept and honored, but I also think that sometimes they are made to be changed. We all have a place in the Circle of Life, we all have a part to play, but I think that us lions shouldn't always be above everything else. I want to make my friends part of the Lion Guard because I believe they can be the best team the Pridelands needs. I believe in them, but do you believe in us?"

Simba was silent, amazed by the wisdom coming out of this young cub's mouth. Kion was only a few months old, yet now he had expressed knowledge that an old and experienced lion would have. His reasons and dedication to his team were crystal clear and his logic was infallible. His heart was kind and tender yet was also pointing him in the same direction as his mind. He held the raw characteristics of a compassionate leader.

His eyes fell upon the new chosen team. They were young, but from the stories he had heard it was how most of the Lion Guards started off. They were not lions, but they could, with some training, excel in the positions they were given. It did make sense for using other creatures to protect the Pridelands, as they were as much loyal to their homelands as his species. Besides, who was he to dismiss other species and put them under low positions when he himself had been brought up by other species.

"You make a fair and just case for your choice, son. An admirable display." When his son stared at him in confusion, he offered a reassuring smile before turning towards the Guard.

"If you all are truly committed to your positions on the team, than I am more then willing to accept you as such. I name you the new Lion Guard and congratulations. I truly hope you will take to your responsibilities well and use your individual talents and gifts to serve the Pridelands and protect the Circle of Life."

The group erupted into cheers, including Kiara and Kovu. Kion rushed over to his father's leg to hug it, all while constantly thanking him. As he broke off to his new team, the other two came to Simba's side.

"What you did was a wise decision, Simba. I admire your judgement," Kovu said.

"You did the right think, daddy. You've made Kion so happy. He'll make us all proud," Kiara added. Simba offered a smile to herm but then turned towards his son, discussing matters with his group.

"I hope so, Kiara," he said. "I truly hope so."

* * *

 **My** **excuse** **for Simba being a bit hard on Kion is based upon Simba's own trauma with his uncle and fear that history will repeat itself with his two children. The reason in the original film... it's not made clear. I honestly really disliked how Simba denied Kion's choices for the Lion Guard when there really wasn't any reason for him to do so. "The Lion Guard has always been made of lions?" It may be tradition, but what's the problem with using other animals as substitutes? He was raised by a meerkat and warthog after all. To summarize, Simba had no real reason to be hard on Kion and his decision on the team. Besides, we don't actually see much of the pride in the film or series except for Zuri and Tiifu, so, in retrospect, there wasn't any alternatives then to use other animals.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	5. Training

**Chapter 5: Training**

 **With the original, the Guard is selected by Kion, Simba denies them, before they prove themselves with their already heightened abilities. Here they train to build of their abilities to their peak before displaying them.**

 **Sorry this took awhile to get out guys, I've been a bit busy lately.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Alright Lion Guard, today's the first day of training. Dad said we need to be at peak performance if we want to be able to defend the Pridelands. We're going to work on each of them together, but we are also going to work separately on the ones we are really good at. Today, we're going to prove that we are Lion Guard material. Any questions?"

A paw rose up and Kion nodded towards it.

"Yes Fuli?"

"Uh yeah. Um Kion, I know we each have our own special gifts and such; I'm fast, Ono's keen of sight, Beshte's strong, and Bunga's brave; but what about you? What's your special gift?" Kion hesitated to answer for a moment, but then smiled proudly in return.

"Good question Fuli. My gift is a surprise and I'll show it to you all after you show me how you use yours. Any other questions?" This time, a different paw raised up and waved energetically.

"Yes Bunga?"

"Can I go first, Kion? Can I? Can I? Can I?" The honey badger was practically trembling with excitement. Kion gave out a mild sigh and npdded.

"Sure Bunga. You can go first. Show us how brave you are."

"Whoo hoo," he cheered, before his head began rapidly searching around him for anything that could help him prove his courage. A broad grin spread across his face as an object came into sight. He immediately rushed over to it before turning back to them.

"Hey guys, watch me going to climb up this rock and jump down it like a totally awesome dude." The rock he was referring to was a rather tall one, though height aside it was rather smooth from wind erosion. The Guard watched as the young honey badger dug his claws into the small niches in the stone before propelling himself upward.

"Got to hand it to him, I've never seen any creature climb up a rock like that's quickly," Beshte admitted.

"I've seen a few hyraxes scale smooth rocks before, but I'll give him credit for being a larger animal and it being a much larger stone," Ono added, watching as Bunga's head suddenly appeared at the top.

"Yeah, it is kind of impressive how he's-" The cheetah suddenly broke off her sentence and her eyes grew wide in realization.

"Wait, did he just say he was going to _jump_ off it?!"

"Zuka Zama!"

The cries of the Lion Guard to Bunga were too little too late as his feet had left the rock's surface. His eyes closed as he fell, letting nothing but air surround his senses. For a brief moment he let himself drift through the feeling of weightlessness as he plummeted towards the ground.

A yellow blur streaked between the distance between him and the group and came under him just as he was a foot above the ground before hitting it headfirst. The cheetah's paws thrust into the ground, skidding both her and the badger on her to a stop. As she stood there panting, she did a slight hop, sending him off her back and tumbling to the ground. The rest of the Guard rushed up to them.

"Pua, Fuli. Nice save," Beshte said, amazed by her swift reaction.

"Yeah, you got there much quicker than any of us ever could," Ono added. She kept breathing for a moment before turning towards them and smirking.

"Well, yeah. I am the Prideland's fastest after all." She then looked over to Bunga, who was just starting to pick himself up, and glared. "What the heck were you thinking, Bunga?! Don't you know that jumping from that height would have broken your skull?!" He flinched at the harsh volume of her voice before glancing up sheepishly at her.

"Well I've done this before," he replied, before muttering at the end, "at Hakuna Matata Falls."

"Yeah, but that place was water where you're jumping into. this is hard land. Do you not realize the amount of danger you were putting yourself into?" Kion then decided to walk into this argument.

"Fuli's right, Bunga. I get that you were trying to be brave, but being brave and just being reckless are two different things. You should've been paying attention to how and where you were falling and if Fuli hadn't intervened-"

He paused, trying not to imagine the worse possible outcomes that might've happened to his best friend. He shook his head to clear off the thoughts. "What we're trying to say hear is that the best way you can develop our gift is if you practice thinking before you leap into dangerous situations. You shouldn't think too much that you become afraid of them, but you shouldn't think too little that you put yourself, the team, and anyone else in danger. Am I making any sense to you?"

The young honey badger was shocked at hearing this lecture being given to him, but he solemnly nodded and stood up straighter. "Sure Kion. Be cautious, but not too cautious. Got it."

Kion smiled. "Good." He then turned back towards the rest of the group.

"Now then. Let's move on, shall we?"

* * *

The rest of the demonstrations of skill went on smoothly enough. Fuli was next, as she ran straight from Pride Rock, touched the base of it, before running back. Ono flew up and used his keen eyesight to spot her through the cloud of dust she was kicking up. When she returned, Beshte came up. He demonstrated his great muscle-bound strength by toppling a small dead tree that was uninhabited by any creature. It was decided that they would just work to excel their skills, as well as practice others.

Finally, it was Kion's turn to show off his skill. He puffed out his chest and lifted his head up proudly before his teammates.

"So what's this skill of Kion that he was so keen on keeping it a surprise for the end," Ono asked. Bunga looked up and grinned excitedly at him.

"Kion's got this great gift called the Roar of the Elders. When he uses it, the clouds above him form lion heads and roar alongside him. He used it today on the hyenas in the Outlands and he scared them right away. It was so awesome!"

"Wait, that sound from earlier was Kion's roar? I heard that from clear across the other side of the Pridelands," Ono said, stunned.

"I heard it too, and I was underwater at the time," Beshte added. While the two boys were as shocked and amazed as the royals were at Kion's new-found gift, only Fuli remained in disbelief.

"Kion made that roar? Pfft, yeah right," she replied, blowing a raspberry to emphasize her point. Bunga turned around, looking both shocked and annoyed at her statement.

"He did, Fuli. I was there. I was the entire thing. didn't you see the lions in the sky," he asked. She firmly shook her head.

"Nope, I was in my den sleeping earlier and for all I know that noise was thunder. I won't believe it till I see it with my very eyes."

"Well you're about to. Look, I think Kion's going to show off his roar to us," Ono point out. All eyes looked onto him as he stood stoically before the open plains. He could see no creatures before him and it reassured him that no one would get blown away when he unleashed his roar.

"Ready? Okay guys. This is the Roar," he said, before focusing before him.

His feet planted firmly on the ground and his eyes fixed on the landscape. The gleamed with determination as he felt it flood over him. He felt power surging through his veins and alighting his heart up with strength. When he felt that enough energy had gathered, his eyes shut close, he threw his head forward, opened his maw and...

...a pitiful squeak came out.

He blinked and felt blood rushing to his cheeks as he stared confusedly before him. "What in the Pridelands?!"

The Guard just stared confused at him while Fuli erupted into a fit of giggles. "That was it? You call that a roar?"

"Um, Kion... that didn't sound like a roar," Beshte slowly said.

"That wasn't the Roar! That was a squeak," Bunga said, looking in confusion at him. "What happened Kion?"

"I don't know what happened. It was working yesterday. You were in trouble, I used the Roar to save you. Why isn't working now," he asked.

"Now hold on Kion. You said that the Roar had worked when you were saving Bunga yesterday," Ono asked. Kion nodded. "Hmm, well maybe the Roar is reserved to only when there's trouble, when the Roar is needed. Maybe you just can't use it whenever yet and you need to use it in dangerous situations to get the hang of it."

"Sounds like a likely explanation to me," Beshte said.

"Seems reasonable," Fuli agreed, before glancing back at Kion. Noticing his embarrassed and disappointed expression, she hopped down from the rock and walked over to him before lightly patting his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I honestly think I may have heard the roar, even if I was asleep. And if your dad and family, Bunga, and even these guys believe that your roar was something, then I do too." He looked surprise for a moment before giving her a tiny smile.

"Thanks Fuli. I appreciate it," he replied.

"Sure, besides, what are friends for?" She showed off a few of her teeth in a friendly smile.

"Hey Kion," Bunga spoke up, "if somehow your Roar only works in dire situations, shouldn't you also work on preparing for them? For example, maybe we should work on fighting and defending moves?" Before Kion could speak, Fuli interjected.

"That's a good idea Bunga." Her head then flipped back to Kion. "C'mon, I'll show you the proper training method to fight."

* * *

By midday the Guard was thoroughly exhausted. It was decided that the training session would end early and they'd continue tomorrow. As Kion trudged back home on sore limbs, he reflected what had happened in the past hour. As it turned out Fuli was the perfect combat instructor, as her months of hunting and defending herself from danger provided the ideal methods for attacking and such.

The downside was that Fuli had been doing this for quite a while and as such her speed and agility were at peak performance. The downside to her was that she relied on her speed to gain enough thrust to an opponent and that required time to get ready and move, space to charge forward, and energy.

 _"She'll need to work on building up strength and stamina more. I bet Beshte would be happy to help her with that, and in return she can help him move faster. We can all earn from another and practice to build up our own and other skills up."_

As he walked along he spotted a mongoose pop out from behind some rocks, frightening some hyraxes away in the process. He sighed as he took in the sleek animal's fierce expression, even when it was calm.

 _"We could all use some practice."_

He felt a wave of embarrassment flood over him with the fresh memory of his demonstration earlier. Here he had a strong hippo, a fearless honey badger, a keen egret, and the fastest cheetah all on his team and he had so far showed nothing that seemed would amount to their abilities. He had felt so confident coming out and trying to display his gift that he thought was just too amazing, but when it failed to appear he felt crushed.

 _"It's probably just what Ono said. Comes out in only dangerous situations and will grow over time."_

Even with the egret's reasonably logic, it didn't stop him from feeling disappointed in today's performance. He had tried to boost his confidence by really pushing himself into the fighting lessons and, to his credit, it seemed like he already had some grip on how to attack and defend. His friends were nice to him, saying that he was better than any of them. Yet with this victory he still felt down.

"Whoa," he suddenly cried out. The ground suddenly broke off beneath him and his back claws unsheathed and dug into the earth to prevent him from falling headfirst. His front legs desperately scrapped at the slope, searching for something stable to push himself back onto the ledge.

He made a jump backwards, getting him away from the edge and onto his back a few feet away. His chest rose and fell a few times before he felt calm enough to flip himself back upright and see what he had nearly fell into. He winced and mentally scolded himself for being so distracted to almost walk himself right off the edge and into the gray shadowy Elephant Graveyard.

Tales from his parents firsthand of what lurked in there zoomed through his mind. His mother and father had both foolishly gone in there when they were around his age and, as result, were chased through the geyser fields, skeletons and piles of bones that littered the place. He took a tentative sniff at the place and instantly covered his nostrils as the musky scents of methane vents, rotting flesh, decaying bones, and dust assaulted his sense.

The warnings of hyenas being spotted in the Pridelands came to his mind. They might have come back to reside in this place once more and he could see why. The misty, dark, and shadowy place provided perfect cover for him. All they needed to do was sneak out at dawn or dusk and they would be able to attack the herds undetected by sight.

He felt a wave of anger come over him. The hyenas had no right to do so since they had been exiled before his grandfather had come into power and again when his father became king. He knew that predators were needed to keep the herd's number count in check to balance the Circle of Life, but with the hyenas there was no restraint if what they would do if they had free access to the Pridelands. Heck, when they did have free access it resulted in everything in the balance falling apart and the fertile, healthy Pridelands changing into the dry, barren Shadowlands.

His claws started grinding into the earth as he thought about them more. Predators who knew and followed under the Circle of Life only took what they needed from the herds and took in moderation. Hyenas were overcome by greed and want. They would take more than their share and then some. If he could meet with one of them right now he'd look them straight and the eye and tell them off.

He perked up at that sudden thought. The imagination-based concept of him standing up before a hyena stood in his mind. Before him stood the Elephant Graveyard, a likely place where he could find them. If he went in and happened to run into them, he could tell them off and if he somehow did get into trouble with them his Roar could save him.

The pleasant thought of him emerging from the Graveyard to his amazed friends and family put a smile on his face, though it quickly faded with the shattered pressure of reality. He had been forbidden by both his parents that by under no circumstances was he to go into the Elephant Graveyard. Not only that, but if he did choose to disobey his parents and get into trouble, there was a good chance that he might not be able to use the Roar and he would be at the mercy of the hyena's claws and teeth. And from what his parents had told him, hyenas were not at all merciful.

Him failing earlier and the emotions with it were quickly, though albeit painfully, pushed back into his mind from the urge to do what was right. He knew that the sole reason why his mother and father had gotten out alive was because his grandfather had come to rescue him after Zazu flew in and alerted him about the whereabouts of the two mischievous cubs under his charge. Zazu wasn't here right now, as his parents and the hornbill believed him to be mature and independent on his own. If he went into the Graveyard, he might never come out of it. Sighing in annoyance over his secret desire being pushed back by moral fortitude, he stole one last glance at the shadowy place before turning around to head to his intended destination.

In a mere second, he found the ground thrown off from his front paws for the second time in a minute. His back legs and the rest of them followed shortly and dust, dirt, and grass filled his mouth and face, preventing him from calling out in surprise. He felt pounding pain all over his body before he felt the earth slam into his side painfully.

His limbs felt heavy, yet he scrambled to get control over them again and get the pieces of earth off of them. His head arose from the pile of dirt it was buried in and he spat out any of it that was on his tongue. He squirmed out of the pile and shook and spluttered, desperate to get as much of the stuff off of him as possible. When he finally got most of it away from his face and blinked away the cloudiness in his vision, his body froze, his limbs stiffened, his ears and tail drooped, and his jaw dropped open.

Before him lay the vast expanse of the Elephant Graveyard.

* * *

 **I feel a reason why I dislike Kion's character is because he's so bland. In the original film we see Simba is a spunky, fun-loving, and mischievous cub, but still has a good heart. Nala is a more intelligent and clever cub, but still can be playful and willing to follow Simba with his plans. In the second film we see Kovu is rather cocky, yet willing to learn if it appears interesting to him. Kiara is an intelligent, yet sassy and playful cub, just like when both her parents were her age.**

 **Kion in the film is an obedient and morally-bound cub. Sure he's fun loving, but in the series we see less of that and see more of a duty-bound, almost strict and stern lion in him. Not that's there's anything wrong with that, but if we could see him struggle a bit more with internal flaws, like his fear of not amounting up enough or his playful antic clashing with his more mature side, I feel if that would make him more relatable.**

 **Anyways** **, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	6. The Graveyard

**Chapter 6: The Graveyard**

 **So... reviewers Calvin and Blue Tagg already did have some notion that I was going to add a certain popular character into this story. I'm sure a lot of you did portend or at least hope that I was going to add her in, but kudos to those two for writing their thoughts out in a review about it.**

 **Now, onto Kion in the Elephant Graveyard.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Methane vents spewed their suffocating, toxic fumes into the air. Broken and cracked bones littered the ground beside the pools of heated, slightly acidic water. The scent of death and decay was all over this place. Skeletons of animals long deceased towered up above the landscape, casting eerie shadows upon the dry, cracked earth.

Upon soft, quiet paws he tread across the ground, body lowered and ears perked to sense his environment. He desperately prayed to the Great Kings that he would be able to pass through undetected by anything or anyone hiding in this hellish place. climbing up the way he came proved to be impossible with the slippery slope with nothing solid to step or hold on to.

After spending some time searching for a way out of this place, he finally spotted a piece of land that looked to be a stable pathway up to the Pridelands. The only issue was that the direct path was blocked by some enormous boulders, so the alternative route was trekking some ways into the maze of bones and geyser vents to get there. And, of course, there was the looming fear that hyenas or some other deadly creature lurked with that place.

Kion had initially wanted to wait to see if any birds overhead or creatures underground were present for him to pass along a message to his parents or someone else to come and rescue him, but two factors prevented him from doing it and prompted his quick hike into this frightening place. One was that he had not spotted any creatures who might be willing to help him and calling out to them might attract attention to himself.

The second thing was that he noticed that the sun was already high in the sky and would be setting down in a couple hours. In a place like this it would be getting dark soon and who knew what things came out once the sun had gone down. His best bet was to go now while there was still visible daylight to avoid an unwanted meeting with any unfriendly residents.

A few methane vents spewed up gases beside him, causing him to flinch at the hissing steam. His limbs ached with the urge to run, but he knew if he did he might make more noise and cause himself to be seen. His golden pelt didn't blend well with the shadows and at this point he wished he had a more darker, grayer pelt like many of the lionesses in the pride.

Still, with the twilight approaching soon and all the toxic gases he was inhaling beginning to make him dizzy and tired, he knew he had to pick up the pace. Thus, he spent half of his time crawling through the graveyard and the other half quickly tip-toeing across it.

He flinched when a sudden glare of light seared his vision. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and squinted before a sigh of relief escaped his lungs. Right in his line of sight he could see the rocky slope that lead out of this place and back home. It was much closer and he saw that he just had a little more ways to go before he reached it. He began quickly heading towards it.

Crack!

A bone lay broken under his paw. He immediately froze and looked slowly around him. The shadows lay all around him, skeletons and rocks providing niches and crevices for things to hide in. He desperately tried to slow and quiet his breathing and rapid heartbeat, as if those sounds were just enough to alert others to his presence.

Then it came. From the corner of his eyes he could see a fast-moving blur. His head quickly whipped around to try and spot it, but it vanished as soon as it came.

Whoosh! Another shadows zipped in the farthest reach of his vision. His head threw back again, trying to capture a glimpse of it, but it was gone.

A sudden shock ran through him and he found his legs being drawn in and his body cowering to the ground. His ears and tail flattened down, and his eyes fearfully scanned his surroundings as the horrible sound of cackling filled the silence. The noises were unlike any he had ever heard. Empty and hollow, yet filled with an energy he had never sensed before. It sounded like monkeys laughing, yet with more echoes and something more sinister behind it.

It grew louder behind him and his head flipped took look over his shoulder, just as three hyenas seemed to melt out of the darkness. He quickly spun around and arched his back, desperately trying not to appear fearful before these great, frightening creatures.

"Well, well, well boys. Lookie what we've got here. A little lion cub all by himself and alone in the big bad graveyard. What do you think of that," the one in the middle said, his voice deep and raspy. Kion assumed he was leader as his two companions on either side cackled.

"I think he saved us the work of going into the Pridelands to hunt," one replied. He was much stockier than his companions, but judging by the drawl in his voice and the slightly distant look in his eyes, Kion could tell that he wasn't the smartest of the three.

"Look at that. Dinner that delivers itself," the other one added. He was leaner than other two and had a much more crazier expression on both his face and eyes.

"Yeah," the main one said, before suddenly he thrust his head close to Kion's, making the cub yelp in shock. "So dinner, what's your name?"

Perhaps it was annoyance at being referred to as 'dinner', maybe it was his previous thought of standing up to them and telling them off, or perhaps it was just dumb bravery, anyways Kion stood up on shaky limbs and tried to appear dominant before the hyena.

"I'm not dinner, and my name is Kion," he replied, trying not to stutter. The lead hyena was slightly surprised by this sudden display of courage, but then chuckled and began to circle around him, the other two following the suit.

"Well Kion," he spat out the word like it was trash, "you're a pretty long way from the Pridelands. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to head here, didn't anyone tell you what might lurk around in the shadows. He snapped his jaws at him, causing him to flinch and his companions to cackle.

"Yeah, didn't your mommy never tell you not to come in here," the thin crazy hyena asked, before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"Yeah, or your daddy," the stocky one added, joining in on his friend.

"Speaking of which..."

A sudden muzzle was thrust into Kion's backside, sending him falling onto his belly with the lead hyena standing right before him. Kion stared up in awe and fear as his body shivered.

"Hey guys, doesn't this cub look like any lion you know?" The other two walked over to him and cocked their heads in confusion at what he was staring at.

"Mm, he looks very familiar," the crazy one pointed out.

"Yeah, haven't we've seen you before," the stocky one asked.

"Answer the question, dumbbells," Janja barked at them. they flinched before peering more closely at Kion.

"Well he's got gold fur like Simba," the second one said.

"Yeah, and red hair like Simba," the first one added. The leader thrust his head into Kion's face.

"You wouldn't happen to be his son, now would you?"

Kion visibly and audibly gulped. From the traces of anger swirling in his eyes, he could see that they weren't such big fans of his father. Still, he had a reputation to keep up and even though these hyenas were menacing, frightening, horrifying, and any other fear-related adjectives he could think of, he was not going to appear intimidated by them any longer.

"Y-y-yes, mm hmm. Yes," he got back up onto his paws and sat up straight. "I am K-Kion. S-son of S-Simba and Nala and prince of the Pridelands." His chest puffed up, his chin lifted, and he tried to look them squarely in the eyes when he said that.

He felt his confidence dire off again today when they burst into howling laughter. All of a sudden, it was joined by more cackling and Kion's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks when he saw that a whole clan of hyenas surrounded him from all sides.

A yelp escaped his throat and he found himself painfully on his back, looking up at the now snarling, glaring face of the lead hyena. He gave a sinister smile down at Kion as drool on silvery strands began to drip down, falling in gross pools on either side of Kion's head.

"Well little princey, allow me to introduce myself then. I am Janja, son of the previous matriarch of the hyenas and current leader of them. And," he paused to chuckle, "I don't believe you have been acquainted with the laws of the lands outside of the Pridelands. Allow me to elaborate.

You see, we hyenas don't play by your rules. We don't follow this sacred balance between predator and prey. We don't live under the Circle of Life. As such, we live here, in this barren, dry, death-infested Graveyard. Here we make our own rules, and you know what," he leaned down close to Kion's ear to whisper, "we don't take too well to trespassers."

Kion gasped and began squirming, desperately trying to get out from under his paw and out of this place. Janja only chuckled at his feeble attempts and pressed down on Kion's chest harder. Kion began mewling out pitifully, frantically calling out for anyone to aid him.

"Any last words before we show you just what we do to trespassers?" Kion stopped squirming and stared up at him. His mind raced, desperate to find something that might save his skin.

"Y-yeah. You'd better let me go or else... or else..."

"Else what kid," the crazy one asked. Janja moved his paw of Kion's chest and looked down disinterested at him.

"Else what? C'mon princey, I don't got all day," Janja replied.

"Else I'll use the Roar of the Elders on you," Kion blurted out in one breath, sitting up it the process. He stared up at the silent hyenas, before all but two of them broke off into even louder laughter.

"The roar of the what? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," they cackled. They paid no attention two Janja's closest hyenas as they suddenly began crying out fearfully in all the ruckus.

"Not it's not. Don't make him roar," the stock one pleaded.

"Yes! Yes! Don't make use the roar on us. We've seen what it can do," the crazy one added frenetically.

Janja was the first to quiet down and he smirked down at him.

"Alright princey. I'll give you one shot. Let's see this Roar of the Elders and see what you've got." The other two shrieked and grasped onto his front paws in fear.

"Don't do it Janja. Don't let him use the roar," the crazy one asked, his friend nodding rapidly beside him.

"Yea we've seen what it does. Please please don't make him use it," the stocky one pleaded. Janja snarled before pulling away from their grasp.

"Cheezi. Chungu. Enough," he barked, before narrowing his focus on Kion. "Well kid, any time now."

All eyes were on him. He made another audibly gulp before inhaling deeply and standing up straight, his paws planted themselves firmly on the ground. His eyes fixed on the hyenas before him before narrowing. He inhaled again trying to summon up the courage and power within him. He felt it start to gather inside him, flowing through his body like a flood. For the second time that day, his eyes shut close, his head lifted up, he opened his mouth to unleash his roar and...

The clan roared with laughter at the wimpy, squeaky growl. The two hyenas who were afraid of him were cackling their heads off. Even Janja was in stitches from laughter. Kion could feel all the blood and heat flood his cheeks and he felt his body cower back down. This was worse than earlier when he had tried to show it off to his friends. Now it was in front of his enemies. He had never felt so foolish, stupid, and humiliated in all his life.

A few hyenas fell onto their sides from the laughing and Kion suddenly spotted the opening it made. With them distracted, he could make a break for it. With their eyes shut and heads tilted to the sky, he rushed towards it, praying to up above that he would make it...

"Not so fast princey."

The paw slammed so fast and so hard onto his tail that he tripped swiftly and painfully onto his face before was dragged back to where he was. He didn't have to look up to see the hyena's cruel smirk and glaring eyes above him. Her only shut his eyes tightly, praying that his end would be swift and painless.

"Well kid, you tried. Now it's time for-"

Kion's eyes widened open as Janja's hot breath on his backside disappeared, along with the paw on his tail. He could hear the hyena leader yelping with sudden surprise before he heard the other hyenas snarl and growl. Cries of shock and pain could be heard along with punches and bodies slamming against the ground and into piles of bones. Hesitantly, Kion's head rose up and looked over his shoulder to see what was happening.

"Ahh," he screamed when he saw a pair of gleaming sharp lunging right towards him. His head flipped back and his paws covered his head as he prayed for the quick end once more.

"Whoa," he yelped out when something firmly clamped onto the nape of his neck and lifted him up. He barely had time to yell further as he found himself being swiftly carried through the shadowy landscape. The sounds of hyenas barking behind him pierced his ears painfully. Mounds of bones, fiery geysers, and towering, bleached with age skeletons blur around them as they zoomed past.

His eyes squinted when the sun painfully hit his face. He could feel his body bouncing up and down as the figure began jumping up. His eyes shut tightly and he could sense that they were climbing up vertically by the way his back was touching against the creature's chest and beating heart. Pebbles and dirt fell on his face, freshly scraped from the slope. The figure bit down on his nape harder and he winced when he felt his skin pierced from the sharp teeth. He heard a growl from the figure and suddenly he felt lighter as they leapt through the air.

His body jolted when the figure's paws made contact with the ground and all of suddenly his body pressed back as they were running again. His eyes pried open and he realized they were running across fields of healthy, tall grass. His eyes stung with tears and he never felt more grateful in his life to see such greenery before in his life. The sweet smell of rich earth never seemed more welcome in his nostrils and lungs after being in the musky, death-smelling graveyard some time now. Most of all he felt such thankfulness to his savior who had rescued him from the belly of the beast.

They finally stopped by some boulders after a few more minutes of running. The figure set him gently down on top of one of the rocks before panting heavily. Suddenly the cub turned around and leapt at them, forelegs outstretched that wrapped around their neck tightly. They almost tried to bat them off before realizing that they were hugging their neck rather than attacking.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for saving me," Kion cried out, burying his face into the warm fur of his saviour. Relief and gratitude flooded his mind. He'd never felt so happy to have to rely on the help of others before. It took a moment before the figure returned the embrace, lowering their body down and placing a paw on his back.

"Sure, no problem. But just what exactly was a young, defenseless cub like you doing in the Elephant Graveyard all by yourself. Isn't that just the least bit stupid," came a feminine voice. It was kind, yet mildly teasing. His closed eyes tightened and he started to pull away from her.

"Hey, I'll have you know that-"

He paused abruptly when his eyes finally opened and began to take in his surroundings. His face was currently buried in gray fur with a purplish tint. His mind raced through the possible lions in his pride that might be his savior. All he could think of was one with medium gray fur, but it didn't seem to match the figure's. He began to pull away more and his relief started to drain away as he started getting a better picture of just what had saved him.

Surrounding his form were two long legs, each looking like they had been dipped in soot. At the end were paws with claws sticking out, ready to be used if necessary. His eyes caught onto the three large spots traveling vertically towards her shoulder.

Slowly his head looked up towards the head. Same color as the rest of the body that darkened at the end, it would've be reassuring to Kion if not for the squarish-muzzle where the familiar rounded one of a lion should've been. The pointed tooth sticking out past the lips was just the top pebble on the rock pile for him.

"Hyena," he shrieked, wriggling out of its grasp and starting to run away. His frightened panting started to return as he headed towards the tall grass.

His paws suddenly halted him before he had a chance to think. He was just an inch before entering the shelter of the savanna's foliage when another realization came to mind. The creature behind him, the same species as the ones that had threatened to and almost killed him, the same species his father had spoken horrible tales about, and the same ones that were causing unease in the Pridelands, was also the one who had just gotten him out of the deathtrap.

His head turned to look over his shoulder. She was still there, laying down and watching him patiently. She wasn't running after him or away from fear that he might alert someone of her presence, she was just still. Slowly, he turned his body around and walked back, slightly cautious, but not enough to appear mistrustful.

"I-I'm sorry," he replied once he was close enough. "I-I shouldn't have... I mean I should've been more... um.." Realizing he didn't have a good reason for running away from her, he sat down and bowed his head in submission. "I'm sorry. T-thank you for saving me back there." He flinched when he felt her paw pat down lightly on his head before she rose up.

"You're welcome, just next time try to stay out of the Elephant Graveyard so you'll won't have to meet up with Janja and his crew again," she replied. His head looked up, just as she had turned around and started heading off into the direction of the Outlands.

"Wait," he called out to her suddenly. She paused and looked over her shoulder a him.

"Yes," she asked. Her dark blue eyes regarded him with some confusion. He found himself oddly calmed by the color of them. Realizing then that he was just standing there and staring at her, he shook his head and took a few steps closer to her.

"Why did you save me," he asked. She turned around a bit so she didn't have to strain her neck to look at him before sitting down.

"I don't know. You were in danger, I was close by. Just thought I'd help out someone who needed it," she nonchalantly replied. He walked closer until he was staring right up at her.

"But why. You're a hyena. Don't you guys, I don't know, hate lions like me," he pressed. Of course with the rules his dad had put up they must have some beef with them. He started to regret his statement when he saw her eyes narrow at him.

"And what, you think all hyenas are bad," she quipped back. His head bowed and ears flattened once more.

"Well, to be honest, I've never heard of a hyena who was willing to help a lion, I mean, aside from," he paused and looked sheepishly up at her, "you probably know who." She looked at him strangely for a moment before her eyes widened in realization and she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"You're referring to Scar, right? Pfft, let me tell you something. The only reason why we did help him was because he had promised we would have food, but turns out since the Circle of Life was put out of whack, we worked for nothing and all of us starved, some to death even." She let out a sigh before looking to the side. "Sure it isn't better now that we're back in the Graveyard, though at least there is some food like rats, but still it could be better."

"Really," he asked as he pondered all the things she had said. When he was there he had thought of how hard it must be to survive there but it never crossed how much harder it must be to live there. He hadn't heard or seen anything there that might substitute as a meal and, now that he was taking a good look at her, she did look rather thin. Heck, if her voice wasn't so mature he'd sworn she was a teenager rather than an adult. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that."

She let out a sigh before turning back to him. "It's fine. Of course you lions with all the ruling over the Pridelands and keeping the Circle of Life in check can't be expected to think about the needs of those who were your enemies." His ears flattened again and his face began to droop, but stopped when he saw her trying to leave again. He shot forward and tapped her paw, halting her again.

"Wait, please wait. I'm sorry I almost ran away from you after you had helped me. It's just that after getting attacked by other hyenas today I couldn't help but feel scared that you were going to attack me too. And I'm also really sorry that you have to live in such a dirty, food-less place after being tricked by... Scar," he spat out the word like it was poison. "How about this. Since you saved me back there, how's about I get you something in return? I'll see if I can get you some food so you won't have to go home hungry."

Her eyes widened at him before they started looking elsewhere where a paw came up to scratch the back of her neck. "Geez, I don't know. I'd hate to ask someone to sneak food for me, especially someone living here." He shook his head and began hopping up and down excitedly.

"It's no problem. I'm sure I'll be able to get you a good piece of whatever my pride has caught. Just wait here, I'll go fetch you some." Before the hyena could protest, he was already beginning to trot off. Slowly she began to smile and a giggle escaped her lips before she quickly called out to him.

"Hey wait, I never caught your name. My name's Jasiri. What your's," she asked. He stopped and turned back to her, giving a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Oh right. Ahem, it's nice to meet you, Jasiri. My name's-"

"Kion!"

Both hyenas and lion cub froze at the third party voice Slowly, Jasiri's gaze went off of Kion and Kion's eyes traveled over his shoulder towards the side of the rock where a honey-furred lioness had appeared.

"Kiara?"

* * *

 **I decided to make Jasiri and the rest of the hyenas older then they are in the series. That way it makes them part of the first film and since they were part of the clan that helped Scar, they either have more contempt and hatred for lions or the feeling that they were cheated during Scar's reign and after when Simba came back. And it gives Jasiri an excuse to have more experience and the appearance of being wiser. I feel it also gives Kion's relationship with her a more mentor-student type, especially now that he's younger in this version.**

 **Anyways, Kiara has just spotted her brother talking with a hyena. A hyena who could potentially be part of the clan that's been invading and terrorizing the Pridelands' and its inhabitants. What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter. In the meanwhile, please leave a review and feel free to check out some of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	7. When Worlds Collide

**Chapter 7: When Worlds Collide**

 **So Jasiri and Kion have been caught in the Pridelands together by Kiara. Let's see what will happen.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

An aura of shock radiated between the two species. One was surprised to see another lion before them, while the other was stunned to see the hyena on their land, and much more so with the fact that their younger sibling was talking with them. The rigidity between them broke for a moment when the cub started talking.

"H-hey Kiara. I-I, um, d-didn't see you there. S-so, how was your day," he stuttered out, trying to erase the sheepish expression from his face. Now Kiara over the years had not been so good at keeping a level-head in situations like these, but with the increased time put into her lessons as of late, she had enough patience and self-restraint to answer him in a calm voice and manner.

"Mm, just fine. I finally managed to catch something, though it's not large enough to reach the requirements of completing my hunting ceremony. It honestly has been hard to meet the full standards as a huntress in the pride, but I'm definitely showing signs of getting there." She paused for a moment before giving him a friendly smile to ease up his nerves. "So Kion, how was your day?"

His tense muscles loosened just a bit and he let out a shaky sigh before replying. "Oh, you know, just fine. I, uh, trained with the Guard today. Yeah, that went well." His eyes were looking everywhere but her as he spoke and his paws rubbed up and down his legs while the uncomfortable truth sat upon his shoulder. Eventually, he could take it no longer and he threw his gaze up to meet with the tranquil stoic gaze of his sister.

"So, um, y-you're probably wondering what I'm doing here with a hyena in the Pridelands. Well um, y-you see-"

Finally the pressure became too much for the young cub to bear. He charged towards his sister, forelegs quickly wrapping around her paw and face burying into the fur on it.

"P-please sis! Please don't tell dad! Jasiri isn't a bad hyena. She saved me from the other hyenas in the Elephant Graveyard. She didn't have to save me, but she did and now I'll I want to do is pay her back with some food and please don't tell dad," he begged, howling at the end, all while gripping onto her tighter as his body shook. After a moment she sighed and placed her other paw on his back.

"Easy Kion, I'm sure Jasiri is really nice and it was very kind of her to save you and bring you here. The only thing I'm mad about is not that she's here in the Pridelands, but that you were on the Elephant Graveyard after dad said it was forbidden to go there. What were you thinking," she asked, making him pull away and look up at her before wiping his moistened eyes.

"It wasn't my fault. I never meant to go into the graveyard, I was just distracted and I got near to it and I was going back home when suddenly the ground broke and I fell in and I had to go through it to get out when I got attacked by the bad hyenas and Jasiri had to rescue me. I never wanted to go into the graveyard, it was just an accident. Honest. Please don't tell dad," he cried out, putting on his best pleading expression up at her. She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and patted his head in reply.

"You can put those eyes away Kion. I won't tell dad, just promise me that I'll never hear you've been in the graveyard ever again," she replied. He nodded his head furiously.

"I promise sis."

"Good," she said, smoothing back his hair out of his face. "Now then," she looked back up at Jasiri and smiled politely at her, "thank you Jasiri for saving my brother. It was very kind and noble for you to do so, despite the bad blood between our two species." Jasiri smiled back and nodded.

"It was my pleasure, your grace," she replied, bowing her head in respect before Kiara lifted her paw up.

"Please, call me Kiara. I'm not 'your grace' or 'your majesty' or 'your highness' just yet," she replied, eliciting a small chuckle from Jasiri. Just then, Kion tapping her leg brought Kiara's attention down to him.

"Kiara, since Jasiri saved my life, can we give her something in return," he asked. She looked mildly surprised for a moment before leaning down to his level and smiled.

"What did you have in mind, Kion," she asked.

"Really it's no trouble. You don't have to do anything to pay me," Jasiri said, but her words fell upon deaf ears.

"Could we maybe get her some food? There isn't much food in the graveyard and she looks rather thin and hungry," he replied.

"I do not look.. ugh, just forget it," Jasiri said, realizing her arguments were pointless between the two. The pain in her stomach was also making her lose the will to continue.

"Mm, I've got just the thing. Wait right here," she ordered. Making her way towards the boulder, she leaned behind it and returned shortly with the carcass of a dik-dik. She came close to Jasiri and dropped it before her.

"As a token of my gratefulness for keeping my brother safe, I present you with this freshly hunted dik-dik. Please accept it along with my thankfulness," she announced.

Jasiri wasn't really paying attention to Kiara's words, rather the meal before her. Her eyes misted and she felt her mouth begin to water at the anticipation of fresh meat. Her stomach growled, begging her to start eating it, yet the little voice in the back of her mind refused her urges. She instead leaned down to take a bite before gripping the animal's neck in her teeth.

"Thank you," he mumbled through a full mouth before turning around to go.

"Wait! Aren't you going to eat it," Kion asked. When she began speaking through her full mouth, he tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

Jasiri set the creature down before turning back towards him. "I said no. My clan needs it more than me."

"Your clan? You mean there's more then one hyena pack in the graveyard?" Jasiri sighed, but nodded.

"Janja's pack is just one of the two. They're the ones invading the Pridelands and trying to upset the balance of the Circle of Life, not mine. My clan respects it and we do our best to scavenge what we can find in the Outlands. I was only in the Elephant Graveyard to search for food for my clan. I appreciate this gesture of kindness because it means that my clan doesn't have to scrape together what we can find to feed today," she replied.

The two were silent as they took in the weight behind Jasiri's words. It was a tale of sadness and starvation, fueled by the loyalty one hyena had to her clan and the respect she had for the power above her that moved them all in life.

"Jasiri, how many are in your clan," Kiara asked after a bit. She gave a small exasperated huff, obviously a bit ticked at being held on to for this long.

"Seven, including myself. Five adults, two pups."

"And you say... Janja's clan are the ones coming into the Pridelands and attacking the herds?"

She nodded. "Mm hmm. He and his pack have no respect whatsoever for the Circle of Life. Want is one thing driving them to attack, but also greed and hate towards you lions for putting them there."

Kiara's face grew a thoughtful expression and she remained silent for a couple of seconds before looking up at her again. "Jasiri, how would you like for you and your clan to live in the Pridelands?"

The hyena's mouth dropped and she stared numbly at the princess. "W-what," she managed to stutter out in a shaky, quiet voice.

"I'm asking you whether or not you and your clan to live here, in the Pridelands. You're not like the ones who have hurt the Pridelands now or in the past and if you respect the Circle of Life I see no reason why you should live in places that are not so beneficial to you back. You see the Circle of Life isn't just a set of rules to follow to make sure the balance is upset, but it is also there to make sure all those living by it are happy and healthy while everything and everyone else around them are the same too."

Kiara paused for a moment before smiling. "Besides, with the surplus of herd animals as of late, there is bound to be an increase in predators and thus an increase in carcasses for scavengers too. So what do you say? Do you want to live in the Pridelands with your clan?"

The hyena stood stunned before them, frozen in thought. Here she was standing before the princess of the Pridelands, a creature of noble birth and royal blood, someone who she had never met before today, who was now offering her the chance to get out of the poor, insufferable state she and her clan lived in. She was being given the opportunity to live a better life here, and for the rest of her clan to be released from the painful reality they had to survive in.

"Y-yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much," she cried out, falling onto the ground in gratitude before her.

"You're most welcome. Of course it will take time to settle it all out with my parents and of course all the Pridelanders. It might have to wait until I have taken up the throne, which isn't too far away from now. Anyways, we will make sure you'll clan will be part of the Circle of Life here in the Pridelands."

"Y-yes, yes, of course. My goodness, thank you so much," she replied, crawling closer towards her. Kiara smiled and softly tapped her shoulder.

"You're very welcome, Jasiri. Now I can't guarantee that it will happen right away, but I promise you that I will try to make things better for you, okay? Good, now you'd better get out here before my dad or Kovu see you. We don't want them getting in the wrong impression before they hear about you."

"Right. Thank you so much again. Bye you two. Bye Kion," she said before snagging her prey and disappearing quickly into the tall grass.

"Bye Jasiri," Kion called out as he watched her go. Once she had vanished from sight, he turned towards his sister with a wide grin. "That was a very kind thing for you to do, sis." She smiled before playfully ruffling his head.

"Well it was the right thing to do. My duty as queen means I need to think of what's best for everyone, even those who are not part of our kingdom... yet." She then stood up and stretched. "Mm, now then, what do you say we start heading home, 'cause I am beat."

"Sure. Oh, and I can tell you about what happened today," he replied excitedly.

"I'd very much to hear that as we walk home."

* * *

"So that's what happened. I don't know why my roar didn't work. I thought for certain that since I was in danger and I was protecting myself I'd be able to defend myself from the hyenas, but," he let out a dejected sigh before looking down at his paws, "I guess I still don't know how to use it just yet." His sister gave him a sympathetic smile from beside him.

"I'm sorry Kion. It's so weird that the roar didn't help you when you needed it most. It was rather fortunate however that Jasiri was there to swoop in and rescue you. Thank the Great Kings that happened." She took a glance at him and frowned when she saw that his expression hadn't changed much.

"Yeah, lucky," he said quietly, before looking away from her. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be leader of the Lion Guard after all."

His head lifted up when he suddenly bumped into a sturdy object. His eyes met with his sister as she gave him a stern look. Putting her front leg down, she walked around in front of him before laying down and placing her paws on his shoulders.

"Listen Kion, you might have not done so well today, but never ever dismiss yourself for who you are. Tell me, who saved Bunga from the hyenas?" He stared at her for a moment and sighed.

"I did."

"And who went right to work putting together the Lion Guard?"

"I did, but-"

"Yes, you Kion! You did all that. You set forward to do the task and role you were meant to do. You saved Bunga with the Roar, showing that you are brave and strong enough to take up the mantle of the Lion Guard's leader. Kion, you are ready, don't ever think you're not." Through her commentary his eyes had shut tightly, but now he opened them wide as he leaned forward and placed his paws on her face.

"But what if I can't amount up to it, Kiara? What if I won't be able to lead the Guard? What if using the Roar was a onetime thing?" He sighed and sat down. "I just... I just don't feel like I can live up to my role in the Circle of Life."

He flinched when a strong pair of forelegs wrapped around him, pulling him close to her chest. After squirming a bit to get comfortable, he returned the hug, gratefully accepting the warmth her body provided. A 'mmm' escaped from his throat as he rubbed against her fur.

"Kion, I know everything seems out of place, that it all seems unclear right now, but I know it will all make sense in the long run." She began gently grooming his head and face, brushing away the dirt and grime caught between the hairs. "No one said you had to be perfect coming into this position, you'll need to grow both mentally and physically to prove your worth as the Pridelands' defender. It will take time, yes, you will need to practice and train to get better, learning from experience and mistakes, but I know from the deepest part of my heart that you have the potential to be the greatest Lion Guard leader the Pridelands has ever known. All you need to do right now is to believe that as well. Am I making any sense to you?"

Kion had stopped nuzzling and was leaning against her chest while he listened. He finally gave a sigh before nodding and murmuring in reply. He flinched when her tongue stuck out to lick his hair tuft, causing it to become slightly frizzy. "Kiara," he groaned, pulling away from her and trying to smooth it out. She giggled before standing up.

"Hey, gotta make sure you were paying attention, little bro. All you need now is to have confidence in yourself and your abilities. That way you'll be able to develop more into the lion you want to be. Do you understand?" He paused for a moment before nodding.

"Yes Kiara. I understand."

"Good. Hey Kion?"

"What?"

She leaned down to his eye level and smiled. "I love you." Her sincere expression on her face and the compassion she had for him was hard to resist. He leaned closer and hugged her foreleg.

"I love you too, sis."

"Kiara! Kion!"

Their heads turned to the side where the emerald-eyed lion had suddenly appeared. "Hey Kovu. What's up," Kiara asked as he came over to them. He panted for a moment before focusing on Kion.

"Well you see a little birdy told me that today was your first day training. And so," his paw lifted up, a large green fruit in its grasp, "I thought maybe you'd want to take some time off to play baobab ball like I promised we would."

Kion's eyes lit up as he leapt away from Kiara's leg and up at the baobab fruit, giggling when Kovu's paw lifted it out of reach. Soon all three lions were laughing and romping about as they tried to get and keep away the ball from one another.

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 **I feel that after Kion was born, Kiara would've taken on a more mature tone as a big sister. I like to see her as that fun-loving, supportive and compassionate big sister who's mature enough to handle situations when they get tough and looks for the civil, smart solution to them. Overall I think if she was as old as she was in the film in the series she'd be an amazing big sister to him, even more so of what we've seen so far.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	8. Mistakes

**Chapter 8: Mistakes**

 **Hey guys, sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. It's just that what with my high school year ending for me and now getting ready for college I've been really busy and I've just haven't had the motivation to continue with my stories. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

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"Keep steady, Ono. Try staying in more than one spot if you have to."

"A-affirmative," the egret panted out. Over the past few days of training, Kion had insisted on him bringing up his strength and endurance levels. So far that meant seeing for how long he could lift up a sling filled with twigs while flying.

"Fuli, how's that rock pile coming along?" On cue, the cheetah appeared, panting as beads of sweat dripped down from her face. She did a small hop, knocking the medium-sized rock off her back and onto the considerable amount in the pile.

"It's... going.. great. Eighteen down... s-seven more to go."

"Well don't exert yourself too much. If you can do twenty-five, great then. If you can only do eighteen, that's fine as well. Don't wear yourself out," he explained. "We'll be stopping by the watering hole afterwards so you can get rehydrated then. Also my parents said you can come over for lunch if you still feel too tired after this."

Her head perked up at the offer and a gracious smile appeared on her face. "Really? Asante Kion."

"Karibu. Just want to make sure you're all taken care of. Now, where's Beshte and Bunga?"

"I saw them over by the grove a few minutes ago. Seems like they're beginning to lose steam as well," she replied, pointing a lethargic paw over a few feet away where the plains were interrupted by a group of trees and bushes. Nodding his thanks, he began trotting off into the foliage.

It didn't take him to long to find a certain rock that was breathing heavily while a smaller, darker one lay on top, breathing heavily as well.

"So, how long did you guys run," he asked, surprising them for a moment before they clambered back onto their feet.

"We... ran all the way...," Beshte started.

"From the watering hole... to Pride Rock, and... back here," Bunga finished, before collapsing tiredly onto Beshte's back again. Kion nodded and smiled at them.

"Well it sounds like you both trained really hard and it's time to quit for today. C'mon, let's get the others and head back towards the watering hole."

"Sounds like a plan," Beshte agreed. "Yeah, I could use a drink," Bunga added.

"Well then let's head out."

* * *

Blasts of warm air and water burst out of the lake as the hippos residing in reemerged. Several of the young calves squealed in delight as Beshte swam out to join them in their playful antics while the rest of the guard either cleaned or preened themselves or partook in sunbathing on the banks. While the others preoccupied, Kion was thinking over what the schedule was to be like.

So far the Guard had been making monumental progress on developing other skills, yet so far he seemed to making the least amount. His intelligence and training gained by spending time with his family was a great asset to the team, yet so far any signs of his roar growing appeared to be futile. Still, he hadn't fully given up on it yet and later he planned to-

"Kion!"

Flinching at the sudden voices calling his name, he jerked out of his thoughts and flipped his head over his shoulder and spotted the two cubs racing towards him

Tiifu and Zuri, the two other cubs beside him in the pride. One a cheerful, yet somewhat naive and complacent, the other elegant and somewhat vain. A thing they shared in common very well was that they idolized Kiara, always trying to spend time with her and engage conversation on the luxuries and privileges that come with her position. It appeared that the both of them seemed excited about the life she lived and wished to experience at least part of what it was like.

And being the second-born son of the royal family, he soon discovered that that was one of the major reasons they attempted to spend much time with him. The other, he supposed, was that he was the only other cub in the pride and the only male cub at that. Still, as much as they got on his nerves, what with their incessant gossip about his sister and their irritating playful teasing, he was a prince and would behave in that manner around them. Even if he didn't particularly like it.

"Zuri. Tiifu. Good to see you both. How has your day been?" He assumed a more respectful stance as he faced them. They giggled at his mannerisms as they came to a stop.

"Hi Kion, we've been looking everywhere for you," Tiffu giggled, her green eyes sparkling as they focused on him.

"Your sister, Queen Kiara, is going out hunting out in the wildebeest herd today and me and Tiifu here are going to go watch her. We were thinking about inviting you along, you know if you want," Zuri explained. Her long eyelashes bat a few times up at him.

As kind as the invite sounded, he could think of what would happen. He'd probably be in the middle of them talking in loud whispers about how great his sister was and what an amazing job she was doing, even if she screwed up and scared the whole herd away. Just seemed like a very boring event, but with all his princely mannerisms he knew just how to properly decline without them feeling offended.

"Well girls, that does seem, ahem, like a very exciting thing to do, but unfortunately, as leader of the Lion Guard, I have my duties to fulfill and so I'm afraid I can't come."

"Things like what," Zuri asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow up at him.

"Training," he quickly said, mentally berating himself for almost blurting it out. He quickly coughed to cover up his mistake. "As the leader I need to train along with my other Guard members and I have to make sure that I stick to the schedule I made." The pair's eyes seemed to narrow in on his face and he squirmed slightly, hoping his excuse could hold up under pressure.

"It's true, he has train just like the rest of us," Fuli piped up from behind him. Catching on to the tone of the discussion, she stopped cleaning to come over and sit by him. "As leader of the Lion Guard, it his responsibility to make sure he stays in shape for when it's time for the Guard to defend the Pridelands.

"Affirmative" Ono said as he alighted down next to them. "He was actually planning on working on his roar by himself later today."

"Y-yeah. And I probably should get to it now. Ahem, see you ladies later, I guess." Shoulders hunched and ears slightly flattened, he quickly moved passed them, trying not to notice the confused and partially miffed glances they were shooting him.

By the time he had reached his destination he had just begun to feel their stares lessening off his back. He let out a sigh of relief before shaking to rid himself of the irritating feeling completely. He then released a small sigh before facing his task with a smile.

A large dead tree stood before him, right before the edge of a hill with a steep slope. Ono had scouted the location out for him, reporting back with no signs of life within, as well as enough space between it and other creatures who may be around. In short, it was a perfect place to use his roar on without causing too much of a disturbance amongst the Pridelander residents.

He quickly lowered himself to the ground, his belly just barely touching the grass. His paw pads extended with each step, giving him a silent approach. Using every tip his siblings and parents gave him about stalking, his body slowly made his way before the target. The mid-afternoon sun blared above it, casting a short shadow across the dirt.

Pupils locked on the trunk, mind focused on the opponent before him. His muscles tensed as he grew close, already preparing to spring forward. He lowered himself further to the ground, his body just barely touching the rough patchy earth.

A surge of power shot through him like lightning, electrifying his movements and propelling him forward. It all gathered together in his chest before streaming up to his throat to be released out his mouth.

And then it struck. As soon as his paws made contact with the ground once more, his head threw up and a sound resounded from it. Not quite a roar, but not quite a squeak either. A strong breeze streamed from behind him as a mildly impressive snarl came out. The old tree started to creak as the wind struck its old wood.

His head lowered as the noise finally reached his ears. His panted for a moment as he stared up at the creaky tree, a smile already making its way across his face. A feeling of accomplishment swelled inside of him, filling him with a giddy feeling. For the first time in several days he had finally managed to summon his roar. Not entirely, but this small victory gave him reassurance that he was definitely moving forward. The thoughts of his parents, his siblings, and his friends celebrating over the good news filled him with even more-

A louder groan pulled him out of his gleeful state and he once again was staring up at the tree before him. To his sudden horror, at the base he could see the dead wood beginning to splinter. A startled gasp escaped his throat as the tree began to tilt towards the edge. He yelled in shock as it swiftly started to fall over. His paws started running before his mind did towards it, but stopped as roots shot out of the ground, yanked painfully up and obstructing his path. His eyes focused on the view past the dusty, black fence as the tree finally fell onto its side. A loud crash filled the air, followed by a loud thrum as vibrations shot all through the trunk and up into the barren branches.

As the dust began to settle, he sighed loudly before he realized it. Though he often despised the sight of barren plant life and wished it to be removed or replaced with greener, healthier foliage, he rather not have to get rid of it by sending it tumbling down a hill.

The crack that filled his ears and sent an uneasy electric shock down his spine came out of nowhere. His muscles seemed to freeze up as he looked past the wall of roots and made out the snapping structure of a large branch. To his dismay, and to the painful sensation in his ears, the branch obeyed the law of gravity and broke off, being pulled down the slope. Regaining control of his limbs, he dashed away from the exposed inner structure of the tree and over to the edge to watch the descending branch.

What he saw next sent his heart into his stomach.

All across the small valley before him, all below the small cliff overlooking them, was an entire herd of wildebeest.

The tall, leggy herbivores turned up their heads from their feasting at the sound of the incoming hazard. Once the plummeting object hit the bottom of the cliff, it shattered and splintered with a loud crack that reverberated across the savanna.

All hell broke loose next.

With loud trumpeting calls of panic, the wildebeests reared and began kicking up earth. With one acting as the originator for the run, the others started moving together, following them with complete abandon of their previous activities. The ground below began to rumble as the thundering hooves stampeded across the Pridelands, unbeknownst to any of them that a stunned lion cub watched in horror as they ran.

 _"...Your sister... Kiara... is going out hunting out in the wildebeest herd... Me and Tiifu... are going to go watch her..."_

"N-no," he sputtered out and instantly his head began pivoting back and forth, his eyes desperately searching for a gold blur against the grass. Feeling his heartbeat begin to accelerate as no sign of her came up, he frantically paced for a moment before charging down the hill.

"Hang on Kiara! I'm coming!"

* * *

 **"Cliff Hanger, hang from a cliff! That's why they call him Cliff Hanger"- _Between the Lions_**

 **Well Kion, you screwed up again, this time putting someone else's life in danger. Now let's wait for the next chapter to see what happens.- V.t.7**


	9. Disaster Strikes

**Chapter 9: Disaster Strikes**

 **If the title of this chapter hasn't given you enough implication into what's going to happen in this chapter, well then you need to keep on reading it.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

When she was younger, her father would tell her stories of the stampede that killed her grandfather. She would often try to imagine the wildebeest thundering through the canyon while her grandfather and father tried to get to safety, only for the treachery of his great-uncle to interfere and the cause the respective death and self-exile of her relatives. Now, as the wildebeests charged right past her as she took sanctuary behind some boulders, she could not help thinking how similar this was to her visualizations of the fateful stampede that happened many moons ago.

And now there she was, like her grandfather, watching in morbid awe as, in the midst of all the chaos, she was witnessing a lion running for her life with certain doom right at her heels, just like her father as a cub. Only this time, it was two.

The two girl cubs screamed for their lives while frantically dodging the hard pounding of hooves all around them. The herd was relatively small, meaning they would pass over soon, but whether or not either of them would last much longer was the real problem.

It seemed a long time ago that she had last been called reckless and impulsive for her actions, even though the battle and unification of the two pride had only been a few moons ago. But with foolish abandon and dumb bravery, she charged right towards the middle of the herd, right where Tiifu and Zuri were screaming terrified for help.

Despite her impulsive nature, her mind now was working overtime as she searched for the best way to reach the cubs. It came to a thought, a memory of her mother describing the running herd to her.

 _"The herd runs as one, many members coming together to form a single being. Like many streams coming together to form a river, and like a river, the herd flows as one. So if you ever cause a herd to start running, always remember to look for one falling out of the flow. That one will be the one you should go after."_

"Flows as one," she murmured to herself, just as she approached the edge of the rushing bovines. _"If a running herd is a river, then a stampede is a torrent,"_ she thought to herself, before letting go of all thoughts as she suddenly thrust her back legs into the ground and swung her forelegs in the direction they were running. Her back legs suddenly dug forward, sending her direction a full ninety-degrees too the right.

She began running beside the wildebeests, waiting an opening to appear. A space between the animals appeared, and she took it, now entering the stampede. Eyes, ears, and reflexes on high alert, she continuously looked for opportunities to get towards the center of the herd, while also scouting for the two cubs. Bodies smashed into her from every angle and both horns and hooves scraped against her pelt, yet white-hot determination flowed through her blood, sending adrenaline to every aspect of her being and propelling her forward.

All of a sudden, the world seemed to blur around her. Everything seemed to pause, or at least take a moment to slow down enough for her to truly take it all in. Massive, animals with curved, sharpened horns of their heads surrounded her. Their hooves, dirtied, scratched and sharpened, cut into the earth with each step before flicking up, sending great amounts of dirt, dust, and even rock flying up into the air.

And the noise. How she wished everything to go silent. Loud groans and grunts made thunder seem quiet. The alarms calls pierced the air, piercing into her brain. Calls of frightened animals, believing there to be danger all around them. In another time, at another place, and perhaps with some insightful thinking, she might actually feel concerned for these creatures, whose only instinct when danger came around was to run, and, if not, to defend itself to its last living breath.

But here and now was not the place. She cared not for how they willed to live or how they planned on preserving their lives. It was not about the actions they took, the feelings they felt, the thoughts they thought in each of them. No, all that mattered right now, among all the disoriented, frantic chaos surrounding her, all that really count were the two cubs right in her line of sight and direction.

And time sped up again.

In a matter of seconds and quick decision-making/reflexes, Kiara dipped her head down and opened her jaw, trying not to inhale any dirt as she surged forward. Her left foreleg shot out, stretching out int the limited space she had. Her eyes narrowed through the clouds of dust obscuring her vision and causing them to tear. She only had one chance to make this count, one chance she'd never get back again if she failed. She counted down the seconds.

3.

2.

1.

Now!

Her jaws and leg were in sync with each other, both clamping down on a small, warm body. Pressing Tiifu tightly towards her chest and biting down on Zuri's nape so hard she could feel her teeth pierce the skin caused both cubs to cry out in discomfort or in pain, but that didn't matter at the moment. What did was getting out of the flow of the stampede.

 _"A drop of water, once already inside a river, is almost impossible to get out. But there is a way for it to break off from the others, and that way is for it to change the way it's going. Whether it's suddenly changing course and being shot out of the flow or suddenly hitting something that is obscuring the flow's path, it is all about breaking away from the direction it is going."_

The shaman Rafiki's words rushed through her brain. Her eyes, though stinging from the dust being kicked into them, scanned around for anything, anything that might serve as the breaking point to the flow. When the pointed top of a large boulder came into view she took the risk. The girls screamed as she darted forward, streaming through the herd and running... right past the tall stone.

Her legs and paws were already bleeding from all the flying debris and the bumping around, but she swallowed her pain as she once again thrust her legs into the dirt, forcing her to stop. She swung the front half of her body again, but this time putting more momentum into it so that she turned completely around and at a faster pace. Tiifu wailed and covered her eyes as a wildebeest just barely missed hitting her and left a strong gust in its wake.

Now facing the rock directly, she surged forward one last time, claws stretching to their limit as they tore through the ground. Her muscles burned like fire and cried out for relief. Blood trickled out from small wounds all over her skin. Her brain was beginning to get fuzzy from the dust blocking her airways. Yet sanctuary was just a few feet away. She was almost there, just a little bit further.

All of a sudden, the world around her grew darker and her eyes, through the grime could make it out as a shadow above her. As she would later discover, a wildebeest, pushed by its herd mates to the edge, decided to escape the flow by leaping over the boulder, just at the time she had charged for it.

Everything around her shifted dramatically. Her limbs that burned with all the fury of a forest fire suddenly went limp. The little air she had in her lungs suddenly was knocked out of her. Lastly, a white-hot, sharp pain seared from her back and her vision was reduced to brightness. Then the pain, as swiftly as it came, faded away as the whiteness turned to black.

* * *

"Kion! I can see them! They're right in the center of the stampede," Ono shouted out, his tone fully of worry and fear as he made it known above the sound of thundering hooves.

"Thanks Ono. Right, Lion Guard! Assemble. Try and break up the herd so we can get them out of there," Kion yelled. His teammates yelled back before moving in.

"Twendi Kiboko," Beshte bellowed as he charged into the herd, knocking away some wildebeest with his massive size and strength. With some space to freely move in, Fuli rushed in. On top of her back Bunga held onto her neck, grasping her fur tightly. Through the stampede they blazed before sliding in behind the boulder. The cubs shrieked as a new body came into view, but Fuli quickly began to shush them while letting Bunga off her back.

The honey badger climbed up the boulder, his claws digging into the bumps and crevices till he reached the top. He could see the herd in full view, charging past him in a mindless hurry. He got onto all fours and pulled his lips back in a grimace, revealing all his sharp teeth. His back arched and his tail flicked up, hairs on end to make himself seem larger. His eyes narrowed and he made himself seem as fierce as possible.

A wild snarl broke out from his throat and he began growling and hissing, looking aggressive as possible in hopes of frightening the wildebeest away from the spot. In their fear-induced, panicked run, the herd hurriedly turned away from the rock, widening the space between them and there.

As he kept scaring them, Fuli tended to the cubs while Beshte stood nearby to provide protection or transportation if needed. Above them Ono soared, keeping a vigilant, watchful over them. And on a hill, watching h herd make its way past, the fearless leader of the Lion Guard watched in concern as cold fear sweat fell down his brow. His mind was completely empty and his heart beat wildly as he stared frighteningly at the scene before him. Never before had the leader of the Guard looked so worried.

Eventually the last wildebeest passed, leaving behind the battered landscape. Hoof marks made craters in the once full grassy area and dust clouds obscured the full extent of the damage. The second it started to clear, revealing the boulder and the animals surrounding it, Kion ran in.

"Kion! Over here," Ono yelled, swooping down low and directing him to the spot. Kion slowed down as he approached, mentally bracing himself of what he would see or hear when there.

However no amount of preparation could ever make what he saw alright. His eyes widened and his blood ran cold as he took in the sight. A large, quickly reddening wound marred his sister's once honey fur, right on her backside. The rest of her body was motionless and littered with scratches and dirt. He began breathing erratically when he didn't see her breathing, but quieted down when he then saw the slow, yet steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Kion, we found her like this. It's your call what we do next," Fuli said. He snapped out of his stupor and looked over at the cheetah who was holding both Tiifu and Zuri in her arms. Zuri was grasping tightly onto her leg, muffling cries while Tiifu just blankly stared in horror at Kiara. Their reactions to what had happened sent his brain into overdrive.

"Right. Lion Guard, we need to get my sister to Rafiki and the rest of the cubs home. Ono, fly ahead. Find my parents and brother and alert them of what happened. Tell them to meet us at Rafiki's tree."

"Affirmative," the egret replied, saluting him before taking off.

"Fuli, take the girls home. Run as fast as you can and alert the pride when you get there."

"You got it, Kion." She leaned down, pulling Zuri off her leg in the process before instructing them to get on her back and get on. While they were doing that, Kion turned to the last two.

"Beshte, do you think you can carry Kiara to Rafiki's tree?"

"I can most certainly carry her there and more if I have to," he replied, nodding with a look of determination coming onto his face. Kion nodded in return before turning to Bunga.

"Good. Bunga, can you help me get Kiara onto Beshte's back?" Bunga was already beside Kiara, gathering her fur into his arms.

"You got it, Kion. You take the back and legs, I'll take her front and head," he replied, his voice betraying some enthusiasm despite how dire the situation was. Though it was difficult for the young cub and a honey badger to lift her up and move her onto the hippo, they soon succeeded in placing her in a position where she wouldn't fall off, or at least with Bunga on his back as well and holding her steady.

"I've been to Rafiki's hut enough times to know where he lives. Follow me," he commanded and with that the trio started to make their way towards their destination.

* * *

 **And I'll cut off right there to leave you with enough suspense for the next chapter. Meanwhile, leave me a review, tell me what you think is going to happen in the next chapter. I'll see you next time. -V.t.7**


	10. Coming to Terms

**Chapter 10: Coming to Terms**

 **Hey guys, hope I didn't leave you waiting in suspense too long. In case you haven't recognized it yet, this chapter's going to be the rewritten equivalent to the scene in the film where Simba lectures Kion about his team. Let's see just what has changed.**

 **Also we just reached the ten-chapter mark on this story. WHOOO!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It was chaos in the Pridelands. The members of the Guard had accomplished each of their tasks and the news had somehow leaked out and spread like wildfire to every creature in the Pridelands, from the smallest shrew to the largest elephant. No place, however, were more in a worried frenzy then those currently at Rafiki's tree and Pride Rock.

The pride, having heard the news, were currently all stationed outside, waiting impatiently for any news about the situation. Some paced, others shed tears, Tiffu and Zuri's mothers comforted their cubs, but all of them were worried for the princess.

For some, she was the lioness who had grew up around them and knew them in some way or another. For others, she was the one who looked past their differences and accepted them as who they were inside. For the cubs, she was the one who they looked up to, even more with the fact that she had risked her life to save theirs and was now paying the price.

They could only hope and pray to the Great Kings above for courage and for good health towards their injured, future queen.

* * *

At Rafiki's Tree, the situation wasn't much better. Rafiki demanded that Kiara's family and future mate stay back while he tended for her and they could only see her when he said they could. Simba was in a mad pace in front of the entrance, frantically worrying while he started creating a rut. Kovu was beside Nala, comforting his mother-in-law the best he could. Vitani laid beside him, holding Kion in her arms while he shed guilty, silent tears. The rest of the Guard hung out nearby, anxious for the news.

The sound of gourds clanking against each other brought everyone's attention to the entrance and soon Rafiki stepped out, a grave expression on his face. Simba immediately broke out of his path and rushed over to him.

"How is she? How is my daughter," he quickly asked. Rafiki's grip on his staff seemed to grow tighter as she stared at the lion king.

"Your daughter is fine, my friend, but resting. You may see her now if you wish," he replied, turning over to the side and directing his staff into the tree. Simba inhaled deeply before straightening and walking slowly inside, his family right behind him. When the Guard tried to go in, however, Rafiki held up his staff in front of them, barring their path.

"I'm afraid only I can allow close family to see the princess," he simply said. Bunga lifted up one of his claws to protested, before lowering it slowly and silently giving in. He slowly turned towards his teammates and nudged them away towards the side. They complied, but not without giving on last sorrowful glance at the entrance.

* * *

If there was ever a phrase to describe Kiara, if there ever was one to describe the most striking aspect about her, it would that she was like a ray of sunshine. Though her headstrong and willful nature could get in the way of recognizing it, her optimism and enthusiasm really did have a way of brightening up someone's day.

Now though, as she lay limply on the soft, sandy floor, it seemed as if that ray of sunshine had dimmed. Even her fur, once a bright honey color seemed almost gray like the atmosphere. For a moment, no one did anything but stand and stare at the once fiery lioness, now appearing so cold and lifeless. Rafiki slowly walked over and began adjusting the thick woven leaves that lay wrapped around her neck and arm.

"Kiara will live. She is a tough girl. A tough, brave girl. However, she was struck rather hard in the shoulder and I fear she may have to postpone hunting and any strenuous activities for quite a while," he explained. Nala looked over and gazed at him.

"How long is 'a while'," she asked.

"About half a month or so. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do to make the wound heal faster." Nala let out a defeated sigh and leaned down to nuzzle her daughter on the head.

"She'll be so disappointed when she wakes up. She's been anxious to complete her first hunt for so long and now she'll have to wait even longer to complete it," she murmured.

"How long until she wakes up," Kovu asked, looking up from her face which he had been stroking softly. The shaman simply shook his head.

"Is unclear now. She seems to not have any trauma in the head, but the blow must've really shocked her. I'd say a few days at most, but either way she'll be rather disoriented when he wakes up."

"At least she will wake up," Vitani stated, desperate to put a lighter note on the situation. No one said anything, though all eyes suddenly turned back to Kiara as the sound of muffled sobs reached their ears.

"Kion," Nala asked, drawing nearer to her shivering son as he buried his face into his sister's leg, nuzzling it fiercely.

"I'm sorry," he stuttered out, never once thinking of letting go. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

Nala's eyes widened and she immediately reached over to comfort him. "Oh sweetie, don't say that. It was never your fault-"

"Yes it was!"

Her paw quickly retracted as he suddenly jumped up and swatted it away. All eyes focused on him and took in his disheveled appearance. His fur stuck up out everywhere and was stained with tears all around his face. His eyes were bloodshot from the crying and he stared up at them with a pained, guilty expression.

"It's all my fault. I'm the one who caused the stampede!"

"You what!?"

Kion shrunk into a tight ball, mistakenly interpreting his father's tone as upset at him. Rather the king was shocked at him, never once imagining that his son would ever do something like this, especially not to someone he showed much endearment to. Had he somehow misinterpreted his son's enthusiasm to his sister's accomplishments as polite praise with jealousy lurking bellow it? Had he missed the envious glances he shot behind their backs, secretly wishing to be in such positions? Was he following down the same path as-?

A choked sob immediately broke him out of his thoughts. The faint image of his uncle faded, replaced by the shuddering, recoiled form of his youngest child. Kion's face was tightly covered by his paws, hiding his ashamed, frightened expression as his body seemed to prepare for the blow he felt was coming.

Simba felt a wave of horror come over him. Not one of fear for history repeating itself, but for the fact that Kion believed it and would be punished cruelly for it. His mother and Kion's grandmother, Sarabi, had taken the time in her final days to sit down and discuss the time when Scar was in fact a lion named Taka and what events may have spurred him on to go down the path that ultimately lead to ruin. He had been told much of the tales about Taka, but what about Kion? Did he have the potential to follow down the same path?

Kion flinched as he felt his father's paw come down on his back. He curled tighter, like a snail into his shell, though he hoped that the pain inflicted onto his exposed back would be quick.

His eyes widened suddenly when he felt it press against his back softly, unlike the blow he was expecting with sharpened claws. He soon found himself being pulled forward until his front met with his father's other front leg. He flinched, waiting as a paw started coming down on him, preparing for the pain. Instead he gasped as it closed down on his back, softly stroking it. A hiccup escaped his throat as he realized he wasn't going to be beaten and his automatically buried his face into his fur, tears renewed.

"Shh Kion, shh. It's okay son, I'm not mad at you, I promise," Simba whispered, putting emphasis into his words. The cub just shuddered and grasped onto him tighter.

"I-I-I'm so s-sorry. I-It was an accident, I-I never meant for this to happen," he stammered. Simba's eyes grew slightly wider as for a moment he pictured another cub saying those words, up to another family member as he looked down upon at him and the motionless lion nearby. His resolve to make sure history did not repeat itself grew even stronger there and then.

"Shh, shh, I know son. I know. I believe you. You never meant for any of this to happen," he crooned softly. He paused for a moment, recalling when his uncle had comforted him. He inwardly cringed at how the conversation had ended. He would not leave off his son on such a guilty note. "If anything, this entire situation is my fault. Perhaps if I had been there to guide you more, none of this would've happened. Maybe... maybe I should've waited until you were more ready."

His eyes widened as Kion gasped, much louder this time and seemed to pull away from his father's hold. The cub started to slink out of the position was in until he succeeded in getting out. His face lifted up to look at his father and immediately Simba began to regret his choice of words. A heartbroken expression unfurled across his son's face, eyes pained as the harsh reality of his father's words fell upon his already vulnerable shoulders.

"Kion," Simba started, desperate to take back what he said, but the damage was already done. Kion bolted, racing towards the exit, never looking back even as his father called out at him to return.

"Simba," came a voice from behind him and he turned towards Nala. Her expression was devoid of any emotion, yet her eyes were hard. He could sense her disappointment at him and he turned away, dipping his head ashamed and sighing.

"It appears even as I grow older and wiser, I still make mistakes," he muttered quietly, the corners of his lips perking up for a second in a painful smile. He heard her come closer to him and place a paw on his shoulder.

"Kion is still young and growing and he will make mistakes on the way as well. However, though we can lead him the right path, we need to let him take charge on his own. He may stumble and fall, but he'll learn to pick himself back again. What he needs from us is to give him a little more faith in his responsibilities and be there to support him, not hold him back."

He remained silent for a moment before sighing again. "I just can't stop living in the past, can't I?"

"You need to look past it, Simba. For both your sake and his," she pressed, hooking her paw under his jaw and pulling his face up to hers.

"The past can hurt Simba, but remember, you can either run front it or learn from it," Rafiki added. In an instant, Simba's eyes widened in realization and he bend his knees and ducked his head, just as, once again, Rafiki's staff went flying over his head. Feeling a surge of determination, he leaped up as soon as it passed, mouth opened in order to snatch it from him again. Rafiki smirked and switched the staff to his other hand behind his back, before thrusting his now free hand forward and stopping Simba by the nose.

"And as you can see, I too have learned from the past," the shaman replied, chuckling to himself. Even after all that had happened, Simba found it in him to smile again.

* * *

The grass brushed against his fur as he ran blindly into the tall stalks. A short rainstorm had quickly followed after the stampede and drops of moisture clung all over his body. It didn't matter though how wet he was getting or how lost in this sea of grass he was getting, all that mattered at that moment was that he needed to get away from there. The pressure and guilt from back there was just too much to handle at the moment.

Since the start, he had had doubts about being in this position. Even with all the excitement and enthusiasm about the new position and responsibilities, there was always a part of him that kept saying that he wasn't ready to fill it in yet. He had shrugged it off until this point, believing it to be just nagging thought in his mind. He kept on saying to himself that he would learn and grow into his new position. He kept telling himself that even in situations when he failed to use the Roar that he was still needing to work on it.

Now that he knew the truth, he wanted nothing to do with the Lion Guard anymore. So far he had done nothing to contribute to it and he just felt like a massive failure, to his team, his family, to the entire Pridelands.

His father was right, he wasn't ready for this.

Legs finally collapsing beneath him, he paused for a moment, staring at the long, tall grass stalks that surrounded him from every angle. They then started to grow blurry as tears stung at his eyes. Despite being well hidden, he still brought up his paws to his face as the tears began to flow. Even at his most vulnerable state, he refused to show any weakness, not even to himself. Somewhere, crickets began to chirp as the sun began to set below the horizon. As the shadows grew longer as the light began to dim, a young cub curled up and wept, hidden from all in his spot.

Or so he thought.

After a few minutes of sobbing and crying, just as he had begun to catch his breath, his ears suddenly picked up the sound of grass brushing against someone. Instinctively flattening himself to the ground, he tried to steady his breath faster, all while keeping a close ear to whatever or whoever was close by.

He gasped as something behind him suddenly slipped underneath his stomach and curled up his side before slowly dragging him back into the grass. His legs stretched forward trying to grasp onto anything that could pull him out of the thing's hold. The creature, however, kept moving him further and further away from the ground until he gasped again when the feeling of warm, long fur touched his backside. He immediately froze and hung limp from the creature's paw as they suddenly began moving away from there.

When he first was caught by the paw, he had initially thought it was a python of some sort that had discovered him in the grass and decided to make a meal of him. Then as he realized the thing was warm and furry, his thoughts went to that of a leopard, cheetah, or even a hyena who had come across him while hunting at this time of day. Now with the feeling of soft hairs being pressed up against him, there was no denying the fact that it was indeed a lion.

The both of them remained silent as they exited the long grass and came across some shorter patches, obviously cut down by some grazers not too long ago. There were still some hoofprints in the exposed, earthy areas. Here he felt the paw lessen its grip around his midsection and carefully lower him to the ground. His paws alighted on grass, still moist from rain, and a shiver ran up his spine. It was quickly overcome thought as he once again felt the warm feeling of fur being pushed up against him. A pair of long forelegs surrounded him and pulled him in closer. Kion, already exhausted from the crying, slumped against it, burying his face into the mane.

"I'm sorry," he softly whispered. He felt a paw gently brush at the tear stains on his face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Kion."

Kion flinched in surprise at the voice, expecting it to be the deeper tone of his father. His head slowly rose up and his amber eyes soon met up with the deep emerald ones of his brother-in-law. Even through stinging, blurry eyes he could make out the difference in features between the two. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kion dipped his head back down and nuzzled Kovu's leg before laying his head on it.

"I really messed up today, didn't I," he asked. He heard Kovu murmured, but he could not tell if it was a reply or an observation.

"Believe me when I say this Kion, you're not the only one to really mess up," he replied after a while, before sighing. "Trust me when I say that I have done much worse things then you."

"Oh sure," Kion suddenly found himself sarcastically saying, "I'm sure the Prideland's future king has done much worse things then the Prideland's prince. It's not like he's ever tried to put princess Kiara in a dangerous situation before!"

Kovu was quiet for a moment, silently brushing back the hairs out of his own face before admitting, "Actually I have." Kion's head arose again to look at his brother's face. Before he could answer though, he quickly added, "And Simba too." Kion's eyes grew even wider. "The whole Pridelands really." He stared down at the cub, a small smile gracing his face at the completely shocked expression below him. It actually brought a chuckle to his lips.

"Would you like me to tell you what happened?" Kion nodded and sat himself upright, eyes still focused on him. Kovu sighed and adjusted himself down more comfortably. "Well first off, I should tell you that it's going to be a long story. One your parents and I were thinking of telling you when you were older, but I think you're old enough now."

"Anyways, I think I best first ask you about the pride. Did you ever notice that some of the lionesses are a bit more, say muscular then the others? That they're a bit leaner then the rest. Maybe even have more markings and scars?"

"And some of them have hooked noses and darker markings under their eyelids," Kion asked. Kovu nodded.

"Well the reason that many of them look slightly different from the others is that they weren't originally from the Pridelands. They were from the Outlands, like me and Vitani." He paused at Kion's surprised gasp before continuing. "You see Kion, a long time ago, Scar had followers besides the hyenas. They believed that Scar was the true king of the Pridelands and were very angry when your father came back and overthrew him. Lead by Zira, Scar's mate, they attacked him, only to eventually be exiled from the Pridelands.

"Among the Outlanders there were two cubs and one adolescent; me, Vitani, and our older brother, Nuka." He sighed at the image of his elder brother, complaining and scratching his fur at the termites which plagued him.

"I didn't know you had an older brother, Kovu," Kion said. Kovu nodded and resumed petting the younger's head. "Not anymore," he whispered sadly.

"As you can imagine, our mother wasn't too happy about being exiled by the lion who killed her mate. So she hatched a plan to get back at Simba, by training me, Scar's chosen heir."

"You were Scar's chosen heir," Kion half-whispered, half-yelled. Kovu nodded, unfazed by the outburst before shushing him.

"Yes. Scar chose me to be his successor, even though I wasn't his real son. Over the years I trained, fed by the hate and lies my mother kept telling me. There finally came the day I would take now Simba and claim back the Pridelands in Scar's name. The plan was this; a trap would be laid out for your sister and I would be the one to _save_ her, getting on Simba's good side in the process. Once I got close enough to him, I'd take him down and take his place. Everything was all set out and ready, all I needed to do was follow through."

"So what happened?"

Kovu paused for a moment and took the time to look down and stare at Kion directly in the eyes. "Your sister. Your sister is what happened."

"Over the days I spent time with her, got to know her, even fell in love with her. I then had begun to realize that maybe the Pridelanders were as bad as I was told growing up. Maybe Simba wasn't the real enemy here. After a few days, I knew it in my heart that I needed to turn things around."

"So what you do?"

"Well for the full version, I'm afraid it will have to wait for another time. To simplify, my mother and the other Outlanders attacked your father, but he escaped and it ended with my brother dying and me getting this scar," he pointed up to his left eye. "Then afterwards I was exiled due to a misunderstanding before Kiara found me and we went back to prevent the full-scale war of the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We managed to stop it in time before any casualties were dealt and Kiara succeeded in uniting the prides together." His eyes suddenly closed slightly and became dim with memory. "It was also the battle which my mother lost her life."

Kion's eyes had never left Kovu's face throughout the story. He had watched as Kovu smiled in some parts of the retelling, frowning in others and wincing in the more painful bits. In all his life, all Kion had ever known about Kovu's previous life before now was that he and his sister weren't originally part of the pride, and only recently had he found out that they were originally from the Outlands.

Now that he heard the full story though, of Kovu's alternate life and things he had done, both which he was ashamed and proud of, he truly felt more connected to him. Kovu at this point wasn't just his brother-in-law and the next king of the Pridelands, but also his real brother, one who took this time to tell him his past just to make him feel better.

"K-Kovu," he asked after a moment. Said lion broke out of his thoughts to look at him. Kion slowly got up from his sitting position and onto his back legs. He swayed for a moment before leaning onto Kovu's chest for support and wrapping his forelegs around his neck tightly.

"Thank you for telling me this to make me feel better."

The older lion paused at the sudden gesture, before returning the embrace, tightly, yet gently, holding his younger brother to his chest. "You're very welcome, Kion. Just remember that anytime you make a mistake, there's probably someone out there who has made the exact same one as you and more."

"And who did it much worse," Kion added, smirking into Kovu's mane. Suddenly, the warm body he was slumped against shifted and he soon found himself falling backwards until he was on the grass, staring up at the dark brown lion grinning darkly at him. Kion's eyes widened in realization and his legs and paws started flailing about, trying to prevent the inevitable.

"Wait! I-I I hah! K-K-ovu-hu-hu! Sta-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-p!"

Kovu's muzzle slid right past Kion's limbs and onto his belly where he promptly blew a raspberry, eliciting wild laughter from the young cub. Eventually though he managed to break free from the older one's hold and pranced away a few feet before turning and pawing the ground.

"Now you've asked for it. Prepare to taste defeat from the leader of the Lion Guard," he exclaimed proudly. Kovu snorted before copying his movements.

"Oh yeah? Well _mister_ leader of the Lion Guard, let's see how you go up against the _king_ of the Pridelands," he mockingly boasted, putting emphasis on the titles. Kion giggled before charging, the sorrow and guilt from earlier put long behind him.

* * *

 **I really enjoy the idea of Kovu and Kion being brothers. I feel that after Nuka's death and Kion's arrival, Kovu would act towards Kion how he always wanted to be treated by Nuka. Also I definitely could see him try to cheer Kion up like this if this story was adapted into film, though then again the story from his perspective would probably be cut back more due to time restraints.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one we'll go back to Rafiki's hut and see how Kiara is doing. We may also get some more hints of the central conflict of the story while we're at it. See ya then.- V.t.7**


	11. Taking in Stride

**Chapter 11: Taking in Stride**

 **Well what can I say for my absence in updating this story now? I got one word for you: college. Work if you count two. Yes, in-between managing homework assignments, getting to classes on time, and getting to my job, I just haven't felt much motivation to work on any writing that isn't for rhetorical analysis or anything else school-related. But I mean it when I say that I fully intend on finishing this story.**

 **If I am being honest, I feel that most of the problems in the Lion Guard RotR stemmed from Simba. With his sudden, unexplained disdain towards other species aiding the Pridelands, *cough Timon and Pumbaa cough*, to his unjustified worry for Kion, I feel that maybe one of the storyboard writers must've had some sort of grudge towards his character and this film was his revenge. However, my biggest pet peeve involving him is that at the end we never see him apologize to Kion for doubting him. Oh sure he says that they're ready at the end before we get that film poster pose from the Guard, but we never get to see him saying sorry to his son and the Lion Guard for not believing in them.**

 **Well... this is my rewrite and I'm going over the plot and filling in the holes with cement.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Eventually the coolness of the night became to much for the two brothers and it was decided that they make their way back to the den. Though initially declining his offer, Kion allowed himself to be carried home on Kovu's back. Even though he was no longer the cub he was, that excuse had no effect on the older lion. In his eyes, Kion would always be his younger brother.

However his views were though, Kovu could not deny that Kion was indeed maturing. He had originally thought that Kion would at least want to stay a few more minutes out here, to resist going back to face his father for just a little while longer. Instead, it had been Kion himself who had suggested they go back, even admitting that he felt ready at that moment to meet his father and face the truth. Kovu had made a nonverbal comment that he was proud of him and that he truly was growing up.

As they walked through the tall grass, it soon grew shorter and shorter until it finally broke down into the rocky soil surrounding the great monolith. Through the Kovu's mane, Kion could make out the figures of his parents, standing on top patiently for their arrival. For a second he buried his head deeper into the tufts of fur, hoping to act that he had fallen asleep on the trip home. Yet he soon realized that even if he did not talk with his father tonight, there would always be tomorrow.

"Might as well get it over with now," he thought to himself as he mentally steeled his nerves. He had been imagining how the scene would play out, preparing what he would say to appease his father's definite anger.

However, once they reached to the top, every possible speech Kion had thought up for this moment withered and died almost instantly as his father rushed over to him and embraced him before he even had a chance to get a single word out. The cub immediately let out a startled yelp and began wriggling uncomfortably.

"Dad!"

"Kion, I'm so sorry," Simba quickly spoke out before Kion had a chance to react any further. The cub immediately froze, hanging limply in his father's arms.

"W-what," he stuttered out, lifting his head slowly out from his father's mane to look at his face.

The king shifted positions, letting his son's feet touch the ground without removing his from his grasp. The cub made no motion to move however as he sat himself in front of him, still looking up at him in disbelief. Simba laid down in front of him, arms still outstretched as he looked at Kion with a fervent, almost desperate look on his face.

"Son." His voice was quiet, yet strained. "I have been thinking lately. About you, your sister, and both your roles in the kingdom. I understand that I may spend more time with Kiara and your brother, not only just to teach them about the ways of the ruling, but also to prepare them mentally and emotionally for the positions they'll be taking on. You, however, I feel I have not spent enough time preparing you in any way to fit your role."

Kion's eyes fell, his body shrinking as if to shield himself for the words coming.

"And, as such, I hope you will allow me to educate you in the ways of the Lion Guard in the future."

Amber eyes widened, shining up in pure disbelief up at his father's ruby ones. Shock was ridden across the cub's entire form as his feet failed him, sending him onto the grass.

"What," he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "You... You're letting me stay on the Guard?"

Simba paused and stared down at him, his face moving close so that he could see his reflection in his child's eyes.

"Yes Kion. I'm letting you remain on the Guard. I'm only saying that I'm going to be coming in and teaching you more often the ways of the previous Lion Guards."

The cubs eyes sparkled with a newfound hope, bringing a smile to his face. The joy, however, fell as he dipped his head once more down.

"But... but what about today? What about Kiara? If I'm allowed to remain on the Lion Guard, doesn't that mean I have a greater chance of becoming just like.."

A firm paw pressed down on his shoulder, cutting him off abruptly. His eyes still remained on the ground before him, though he could feel the warm breath prickling at the fur on his head.

"Kion, we all make mistakes. You had no intention of hurting your sister or putting her in any situation where she was in danger. It was an accident." Kion heard his father pause and inhale sharply, mentally preparing himself for his next statement.

"Son, you're never going to become like Scar. You're nothing like him and you'll never be like him. Trust me when I say this." A paw cupped under Kion's chin and pressed upward so that their faces met each other's once more.

"You're your own lion. You don't need to be anyone else that isn't you and no one can make you change who you are."

The two were silent for a moment. Simba remained quiet as he allowed his son to take in all this new knowledge and absorb it in. He flinched, startled, as Kion broke free of his grass and fell forward, burying his face into his mane.

"I love you dad," he heard mumbled into his fur. A warm smile graced the king's face and a paw stretched over to wrap around Kion's backside.

"I love you too, son." For a few seconds, the both of them relished being in the touching moment, having reconciled. However, a sudden and unexpected idea popped into the king's head and Kion suddenly gasped as he was abruptly pulled out of his comfort zone and into a tight headlock.

"And don't you forget it," Simba playfully said through clenched teeth as his free paw came up and began rapidly rubbing against his son's mane tuft. He grunted and struggled to pull out of his father's grasp.

"Dad... argh! Let go of me," Kion gasped, using his limbs to kick and pull his way out of the headlock. After twisting his neck a bit, he successfully pulled himself free and jumped away a few paces. He swiftly turned around through and hunkered down, pawing at the ground mockingly.

"Oh now you've done it," he menacingly said in a teasing way. "You mess with the mane, you get a bad day."

Simba chuckled heartily at the movements and the intentionally bad taunt as he got up and assumed the same position.

"Oh yeah? Well, you challenge me, you mess with the king," he replied, only to bow his head and giggle. "That was really bad, wasn't it?"

The air was pushed out of his lungs abruptly as a body slammed into his chest. Though not enough to topple him over, he staggered a bit and threw it off of him. Kion quickly recovered to his feet though, darted away a few paces, and stopped. His head looked over his shoulder towards him, a smug grin on his face.

"Never take your eyes off your target. Even you should know this by now dad."

The older lion gave a mock gasp before charging after his son, playfully calling out the things that would happen if he caught up to him. The younger called out in reply _if_ he managed to catch him. As the two mended their relationship, that left Kovu sitting on the hill, a smile on his face as he watched them.

All of a sudden, his eyes widened at the realization that his father-in-law taking more time to teach his brother-in-law left much kingly duties to be met. Kingly duties that would more likely than not fall onto him.

Sighing exasperatedly and shaking his head, he smirked as he trekked after the two.

* * *

Sunlight flickered through the leaves of the trees that found root in-between the large boulders surrounding Pride Rock. As the occasional breeze shifted through the branches, the shadows cast below danced upon the figure that lay languidly on soft dirt ground.

Three days had passed since Kiara was first admitted to Rafiki's care and in that time Kion had found himself spending less and less time with the Guard and more time lethargically staying around Pride Rock.

Though Kovu's session and his reconciliation with his father had left him feeling better about himself, he felt as if he had still lost most of his motivation to continue with his role, even now that he had had what was left of his confidence salvaged. After all had been said and done, even with the pep talks, he wasn't sure about taking the mantle of leader back up just yet. Though several of the pride's members were cautious about this hiatus, the rest at least understood the disinterest in continuing after the event that had just transpired.

His father would often come by to ask him whether or not he felt ready to take up the reigns again or if he wanted to begin the lessons on leadership. When he declined, his father would always be understanding though and would politely remind him that whenever he was ready that he would be there for him before heading out once more.

The wind blew more strongly than usual, sifting through his fur and sending a shiver up his spine. He moaned slightly, feeling uncomfortable by the cooler temperature under the shade. Deciding this time was better spent in the sun, he slowly rolled over onto his paws and pushed himself up. A large, flat stone that many lions used for sunning was thankfully close by and he soon was laying down upon its warm surface. A sigh escaped his mouth as the heat soaked trough his side.

A few minutes passed until he discovered a different kind of heat, this time a bit cooler and temporary, as it kept disappearing along with a small pressure on his front leg. Wearily, his eyes cracked opened, revealing the culprit who dared poke him. A pair of olive green eyes blinked at him.

"Kion," Tiifu asked, backing away as she discovered he was awake now. He stared at her for a moment and at the blue-eyed cub sitting beside her before shutting them again.

"Go away," he muttered. His descent back into relaxation was short-lived through as he felt a sharp nip on his ear. His paw quickly batted away the offender before looking up at the cub, this time Zuri.

"Not until you hear what we have to say," she firmly said, eyes narrowed determinedly at him.

"Ugh fine," he replied after a moment of her staring at him. Rolling himself onto his stomach and sighing at the heat rising up from the rock, he stared at the two.

"We came to apologize," Tiifu quickly blurted out, leaning unexpectedly and quickly close to his head.

"For what?" He leaned back in time so that he didn't it heads with her, though his eyebrow did raise in confusion.

"We've been both thinking lately," Zuri started. " _A first for them._ " Kion mentally rolled his eyes. "About what happened the other day and we wanted to say we're sorry for getting in the way of things."

"Huh?" Now he was getting really confused.

"What she means is that if we hadn't gotten too close to where your sister was hunting, she wouldn't have had to rescue us in the first place. So we came to say we're sorry for messing things up for you and everyone else." Tiifu bowed her head solemnly, followed closely by Zuri.

"Even though it was technically it's your fault for creating this mess-oof!" An elbow knocked quickly into her side and she quickly changed her tone. "Ahem, sorry."

For a solid several seconds Kion just stared at them, frozen except for regular blinking. Eventually both girls grew tired of the lack of response and looked up, confused and a bit miffed.

"Uh Kion?" Tiifu twisted her head in confusion.

"Um, I think this is that where you're supposed to say that you forgive us?" Zuri's eyes narrowed with a mixture of emotions that even she couldn't begin to discern.

"K-Kiara?"

"Yes! You're supposed to forgive us for helping mess up Kiara's hunt."

"Don't you think you should ask someone else for forgiveness first?"

The two cubs froze and finally took notice of where Kion's gaze was pointing towards. Slowly, the two turned around and were met with the bandaged, yet still very real and well form of their future queen. The leaner body of her sister-in-law stood close beside her, aiding in supporting her.

"Kiara!"

Breaking out of his stupor, he bounded between the two to embrace his sister, cautiously minding her wrapped leg and neck. She responded with a careful nuzzle before gently pushing him away.

"Well, it's glad to see you haven't remained too miserable while I was gone," she teased. Her voice was weak from lack of use and her eyes had tired circles around them, but she was here, still alive, and well enough to maintain her usual attitude. She stared fondly at him as warm tears spilled out from his eyes.

"I missed you so much," he said, hurriedly wiping his face. "Sis, I'm so sorry I-" A paw to the lips silenced him.

"Hey, I'm not mad. You did absolutely nothing wrong." Her eyes arose off him to look at the girls sitting frozen behind him. "It was just an accident that no one could have predicted. If it really does make you feel better, I'll say that I forgive you, but at the same time it was not anyone's fault, okay?" Standing up straighter, she let out a sigh. An amused smile came across her face. "If anyone's to blame, it's me for trying to go after wildebeest when I should have been hunting gazelles."

"Yeah, you are really not having much luck when it comes to hunting. Whether it's been getting caught in a fire, getting in a stampede, or just being so loud that the prey hears you, you really are shaping up to be the worst huntress in the history of huntresses." Vitani's smirk soon widened to a grin as an angry, scrunched face turned towards her.

"Oh yeah?! Well sorry if I wasn't trained to hunt crocodiles like _some_ lions." A cackle escaped Vitani's throat and she shook her head.

"Okay, fair enough, but still I'd bet you couldn't even creep up on a crocodile while it's sleeping underwater without it hearing you," she taunted, causing the cubs to laugh, yet only drawing a modest giggle from Kiara.

"Yeah, well I probably shouldn't go after crocodiles, lest I spend more time hearing Rafiki explain how he prepares his paints or tell how my parents got into trouble at my age or whatever the topic happens to be with that crazy monkey."

This elicited more giggles from the other girls, but for Kion he just remained silent. His sight was fixated on his sister, his alive and rapidly improving sister. The while world seemed much more brighter and the guilt weighing him down over the past few days seemed to dissipate now that she was back.

Yes, now that she was back home, all that mattered was making sure she would stay there, safe and with her family.

* * *

After a brief amount of time, Vitani had said farewell and went to join the hunting parties for a late-afternoon hunt, leaving just her in-laws and the two other cubs the only ones at home at the moment. To him, it seemed a bit unusual that she would leave his sister's watch and care to him, but she made herself very clear in explaining how she wanted to see her sister-in-law by the time she and the others got home.

In other words, while she was gone, he was the man of the house. In charge of making sure his sister was alright and, is necessary, making sure the other two cubs stayed out of trouble. He could still remember her smirking grin as she dashed away from Zuri and Tiifu as they yelled with indignation.

"Hey girls," Kiara called out to them, catching their attention. "Would you mind if you let me and Kion be alone for a little bit?" The two stared for a moment before agreeing, darting off towards the cave at the top, leaving the two alone. Kion watched as they left, mildly confused as to what was going on. He flinched as he felt something tap his shoulder and he turned back to Kiara, a few feet ahead and motioning him to come follow. Sighing, he obeyed.

They walked down Pride Rock until they had come across large, flat boulder right beside the stony staircase. It was several feet above the ground, yet allowed plenty of room before going across the edge. He watched as his sister, came over and laid down onto it before tapping the ground next to her.

His paws suddenly felt like there were rocks tied to them, yet he still stiffly made his way to her side and sat down next to her.

"So...," she drawled out, catching his attention. "I've heard that you've been taking a break from leading the Lion Guard recently."

His gaze and ear lowered as he hunkered down onto the rock. His claws began tracing the scratches and rough areas that marred its surface. It all seemed so interesting now.

"Yeah," he muttered back. He flinched again as he felt her paw press down on his back.

"Kion, what you did back there, it wasn't your-"

"Yes it was!" His form was suddenly erect, legs straight, hackles risen, eyes staring right at her face with a desperate expression. "Kiara, I caused a stampede that put others in danger. I put you in danger! What if you hadn't just gotten injured trying to save them? What if you...?"

His legs collapsed beneath him as he fell forward, paws scrabbling before catching on her fur. He pulled himself towards her, burring his face into her uninjured leg. It suddenly came from out underneath him and he whimpered before he slid over his back and pulled him closer to her chest. He nuzzled her warm fur, listening to the comforting beat of her heart as tears began to leak out of his eyes. She began softly murmuring to him and her paw came up onto his back, stroking up and down in a calming motion. He pressed closer, seeking comfort with the knowledge that she was safe and alive beside him.

"Kion, I understand that you're feeling guilty about this entire thing, but please, remember that this wasn't your fault. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was too. You had no intention whatsoever to hurt me and whatever happened back there is in the past."

Nudging his face up, she stared at his tear-stained face and glistening eyes. Nuzzling him, she gave him a quick brush of her tongue on his face, clearing off some of the moisture that had accumulated there.

"Kion, I forgive you for making a mistake. Now can you forgive yourself too?"

He stared at her solemnly for a moment more before he nodded. Another second passed and a cheeky grin made its way across his face.

"Hakuna Matata."

As peals of laughter erupted from the throats of the two, he embraced her around the neck, being mindful of the bandages there. She returned it full heartedly.

"I love you so much Kion," she whispered. He nuzzled her in return.

"I love you too sis."

"Kion!"

Their eyes suddenly widened in shock and they separated to look down at the ground several feet beneath them. A panting cheetah stared up at them, chest heaving for air.

"Fuli, what's wrong?"

"There's... a hyena... in the.. Pridelands," Fuli gasped out. "She... she said she needed to speak with you. She said it was important and she needed to speak with you immediately."

"A hyena," he inquired, his thoughts immediately racing. "Well... where is she?"

"Kion!"

Fuli suddenly spun around, teeth bared as a snarl escaped her throat. The approaching hyena paid no attention to her, instead directing it up to Kion. Behind her, the rest of the Guard came up, each breathing heavily, clearly having had to race after her.

"Jasiri?," he asked, jumping down the stones and onto one closer to her head level.

"Wait," came Beshte's voice from behind. "You two know each other?" At the sight of the both of them nodding, they rest of the Guard gasped.

"But- But Kion! She's a hyena! Have you've gone crazy," Bunga asked, wildly expressing his disbelief with his arms.

"I know Bunga. But not all hyenas are bad. Some like Jasiri are good and respect the Circle of Life, just like we do. Plus she saved me from the other hyenas who have been causing havoc in the Pridelands. I know Jasiri, I trust her." Though their expression still displayed confusion, the answer seemed to placate them. Smiling slightly, he turned back to her. "So what's the problem Jasiri?"

Her expression was frantic and her eyes displayed genuine fear. "Kion, I've come to warn you and everyone else. Janja and his clan, I don't know how, but they somehow found out that Kiara got injured few days ago and is recovering." Her head tilted up towards the future queen, her eyes shining with concern. "They're coming. Janja and his entire clan. They're planning to attack you while you're still weak and finally have their revenge against those who banished them to the Outlands."

"Wait, wait, wait. They're planning to attack Kiara while she's still recovering? As in a full-scale ambush," Beshte inquired.

"As in a full-scale invasion," Fuli added. Jasiri nodded before turning back to the two lions.

"They somehow found out when and where Kiara would be not very protected and there coming out here now," she stated, her voice filled with urgency. "You need to evacuate Kiara and anyone else here before it's too late."

"Hapana! It's too late," Ono screeched out in alarm, flying a few feet above them. "Look, they're coming!"

All heads turned towards the grassland behind them. In the midst of the setting sun, as the sun began casting its darker rays upon the savanna, even darker creatures streaked towards them, swiftly approaching Pride Rock from every possible angle.

"Hevi Kabisa," Kion gasped, his form frozen in fear.

They were surrounded.

* * *

 **I promise I'll get the next chapter out sooner, I promise! Hope you enjoyed this one though. Please comment and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, V.t.7**


	12. Stand Strong

**Chapter 12: Stand Strong**

 **Well what do you know, I actually posted a chapter much sooner then my previous one. Well I owe it to you guys since you've been so patient with me and this story.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It took Kion less than half a second to assess the situation at the moment.

Somewhere else in the Pridelands, Simba and Kovu were out surveying the Pridelands among the borders. In another part, the lionesses were out hunting, occupied with catching the pride's dinner. The only ones here at Pride Rock were the cubs, a hippo, an egret, a cheetah, a honey badger, a friendly hyena, the young prince, and the recovering princess.

Against an entire pack of vengeful, vicious hyena that would be here in less then two minutes.

"Kion!"

The sound of his name broke him from his thoughts, and he then realized that all eyes were on him. He saw the concern, the fear they had in their eyes, the lack of direction they had in this situation. They needed someone to guide them, to take charge in this situation.

They needed a leader.

Straightening up, he planted his paws firmly on the ground and mustered up his courage.

"Everyone listen up! My dad and brother are out by the borders. The rest of the pride is out hunting somewhere. It will take too long for them to get back in time, so that just leaves us to defend Pride Rock and the others here."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ono said, fluttering down and shaking his head in disbelief. "We're going to be fighting the hyenas? How? We haven't been trained yet for dealing with these kinds of situations."

"Yeah Kion. We don't even know what we're going up against. I mean, I've seen hyenas before, but I've never once seen anyone go up against them. We have no idea how strong they are or if we'll be even capable of holding them off long enough," Fuli added. Immediately the rest of the Guard began clamoring, voicing their worry and concern of the situation. Over their anxious yells, he slammed both of his paws down and growled to get their attention.

"Listen to me!" Looking down, he saw that he had their full attention. "Listen. I know we're not prepared for these kinds of things yet, but what choice do we have if we don't step up and fight? The pride is too far away to help and it's too late to evacuate. If we don't defend Pride Rock, we may lose our next ruler and innocent lives." His eyes quickly darted over to Kiara. Her faced was stoic, yet her eyes betrayed her worry. She was just as concerned as they were. He had to be strong for their sake.

"We're all that stands between the hyenas and Pride Rock." He stood of straight, giving his best stance. "We need to protect Pride Rock."

The Guard was silent as the words of their leader swept through their minds and into their hearts, emboldening them to speak. Bunga was the first to step up.

"So what would you have us do Kion?" The lion cub smiled and leaped down before him.

"We need to keep Janja's clan away from my sister and the cubs for as long as possible, until the pride or my dad can get home. Fuli, you're the fastest. Do you think you can run fast enough to alert them that we're under attack?"

"In my sleep," she replied confidently, before humbly adding, "although I'll need help finding them."

"Then take Ono with you. Ono, you just need to find one of them and report back. Fuli, you need to alert them and get back here as quickly as you can to help. Can you both do that?"

"Affirmative," Ono replied.

"Then head out now. And be careful!"

"You got it Kion! Be back in a flash. Huwezi!" With a burst of speed and a following dust cloud, the cheetah was off with Ono in tow.

"Beshte! Bunga!" The both of them turned and stood in attention. "I need you to help hold off the hyenas. Distract them, block them, confuse them. Anything that prevents them from getting any closer."

"You got in Kion," Bunga saluted.

"We'll do our best," Beshte reassured as he turned and ran off to defend, leaving just Kion, Kiara, and Jasiri behind.

"Jasiri," Kion asked, catching her attention. He came closer and sat down before her, making himself appear humble. "I know I have no right to ask you and you have no obligation to help in any way, but-"

His eyes widened at the sudden paw pressing onto his lips, then traveled up her arm to her determined facial expression. "I'm going to help you out, regardless of how little I've got to do with any of this or how it affects me. So," she backed away and placed her paws together in perfect position, "where do you want me at?"

Kion smiled, nodding thankfully at her before pointing his paw in the direction Beshte and Bunga left. "Those two will need help fighting off the hyenas. Since you've known Janja longer than any of us, we need help looking out for his tricks."

"On it. Just you wait, Janja won't know what hot him when he finds his own tactics have been used against him." Chuckling, she darted off, her laughter echoing across the savanna.

That left just one last thing to take care of.

"Kiara..."

"...You want me to take the cubs and make sure we keep as far away from the hyenas as possible."

A breathy sigh escaped his throat as he turned around and looked up at her, still laying down from above, her expression indeterminable.

"You know I just want to keep you safe sis."

After a few seconds, her face relaxed and sigh of her own left her lungs. Slowly, she got up and jumped down to him, wincing in pain as her injuries protested. Leaning in close, she pulled him in tight her her chest by his shoulder, pressing his face next to her heart. He shuddered as he heard the powerful organ beating, strong and steady. He would do anything to make sure it stayed that way.

"I know. I also know you have the strength to do anything you set your mind to." She pulled away, but kept her paw on his shoulder. "Now go. Go and kick those hyenas back to the Outlands and make sure they never bother us again!"

He grinned and leaned up to press his head against her face. "I won't let you down, I promise."

"I know you will," she whispered back, taking her leave now as Kion raced out to join the others. Zuri and Tiifu would not be happy to be taken away from their activities, but safety and survival came before sunbathing.

* * *

Some ways away from Pride Rock, dark shapes slithered through the savanna, contrasting greatly against the long, green waves of grass. Occasionally, one of them would lift their muzzles above the foliage to check their progress towards the great stone structure. A little birdy had told them an unattended future queen and cubs laid inside the den, and what better way to get revenge upon the pride then to take them out.

Among the shapes, one figure stood up more than the rest. Though his fur and body shape was no different from the others, the fierce glare in his eyes directed at the great landmark before him made him appear more frightening then his cronies. A dark pink tongue stuck out to wet his lips, the thoughts of the metallic taste of blood breaking from freshly made lion wounds making him more anticipated for the ambush.

 _"Almost there."_ The landmark was nearing. He could already see where the grass broke to give way to the dirt surrounding the great stone's base. In moments he would rush up the rocks, storm into the den where undoubtedly the weakened princess and any other weak lions stayed. His lips curled up, revealing the yellowed, razor fangs. The images swirled in his head. The scared stances. Eyes glazed over with frozen fear. The cries for help, for mercy. The sight of their terrified expression as he finally charged forward and-

"Zuka Zama!"

The ground underneath his paws suddenly made contact with his face as he tripped over an unseen bump. As he skidded across the earth, the air from his lungs was suddenly caught off by a firm, painful pressure onto his chest. He slowed to a stop, utterly dazed and world spinning around him. He blinked, trying to clear the fog from his mind, only for it to be penetrated by a deep, yet feminine, chuckle.

Slowly, his eyelids peeled open, revealing the darkened image of his own kind, sitting smugly on his chest.

"Hello Janja. Fancy meeting you here."

"Jasiri!"

His paw rose off the ground, aiming to strike her across the face, off of bis chest, but the hyena was too swift. Her body leaped off of him, only to be replaced with a larger, heavier form mere seconds later. He gave out a bark of surprise and pain as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"Sorry boss," one of his cronies quickly apologized as he realized that the hyena under him was not the same he had aimed for.

Janja's head turned to glare at him before he began squirming. "Just get off me you big oaf!" As soon as he was let out from under him, Janja immediately got onto his feet. He swayed slightly, but regained balance fairly quickly.

"Hey boss," came the voice of another one of his pack members, coming into sight and to a halt right before his feet. "Sir, we've been discovered!"

"Gee, really Cheezi?" The smaller hyena gulped audibly as his leader glowered and began stalking towards him. "You think I hadn't noticed!" The sudden snarl and the flashing of fangs sent him scampering backwards. Janja growled before leaping up, thrusting his paws on the ground with a loud thump, catching the attention of his pack.

"Listen up, numskulls! We've spent too long a time living in the shadows of these lousy, stinking lions. Are we really going to let one, puny, insignificant, hye-"

The pack gasped as, out of nowhere, a large green sphere was suddenly thrown into his open mouth, blocking off any further monologue. All eyes turned to the sound of howling laughter. Upon a nearby fallen log, one Jasiri and one honey badger shook with their incessant giggling. Though momentarily stunned, Janja tightened his law around the fruit. It's soft skin broke, increasing the tart juices onto his tongue and out dripping from the sides of his mouth. the fruit collapsed, allowing him to spit it out.

"Enough," he coughed, trying to rid himself of the sour taste. "You'll pay for that. There's nothing you can do to stop us from taking our long-overdue revenge on these pompus, overstuffed kitty cats. Besides," his lips peeled back to reveal a sinister smirk, "we've got you outnumbered."

"Oh yeah?" The honey badger responded, folding his arms over his chest with a similar, albeit less frightening, smug expression. "Well we've got you out-sized."

Cocking his head slightly in confusion, any words died in his throat as the earth beneath him began the rumble. A loud snort filled the air and he suddenly found himself flying into the air along with his companions. He could faintly hear the words "passing through" being called out before his face came in contact once again with the ground.

When he emerged onto his paws again, although a bit dazed, he was furious.

"Alright you miserable pelts, you've asked for it! Hyenas, lets teach these pathetic excuses of fur the price for messing with us. Attack!"

Stances readied, the three grinned as the hyena pack charged forward, unaware of the kind of fight they had coming.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the savanna, nearing by watering hole, the two most powerful make lions were stationed. Their heads were dipped at the water's edge, allowing themselves to drink for a few minutes before resuming their daily patrol around their territory.

"Your highnesses!"

Immediately the both of them were alert, heads lifting up at the sound of their titles being called out, only to notice the ball of dust surging towards them at top speed. They stood firmly on the ground, prepared to deal with whatever came barreling at them.

The dust cloud stopped just a few feet before them and settled, revealing the creature inside of it. A panting cheetah panted for a moment, before looking up at them, her face adding to the urgency her voice let out.

"Pride Rock! Under attack! Hyenas!"

Those five words, though slightly garbled by the gasping breaths the cheetah took, was immediately understood and threw them completely into shock. The fear of the unguarded cubs and recovering princess facing against a pack of vengeful, viscous hyenas sent a cold wave of fear surging through them. Pride Rock under attack by hyenas with the cubs and Kiara inside.

"You've gotta come back and help. Kion and the Guard can't hold them off for much longer," Fuli cried out, before turning tail and speeding off towards Pride Rock, not waiting for a response from the royals to tell her to head back and help fend off the attack. However, she did allow a quick look over her shoulder, inwardly sighing in relief as the kings, though falling behind her, were indeed following her.

"Huwezi," she called out, increasing her pace towards the fight.

* * *

"Beshte, back right leg!" The hippo took head of the warning and kicked out his leg, grinning at the startled shock as a hyena went falling back. He looked up towards the egret who had arrived shortly and nodded his appreciation. Ono replied with a smile before darting elsewhere.

"You think you hyenas are so tough?" A little while away, Bunga was facing off two hyenas next to a fallen tree trunk. Though he was much smaller then the two snarling males, he more than made up for it with ferocity. His form was puffed up to make him appear larger then he really was and a frightening look between the narrowed eyebrows to the slaver dripping fro his maw to the crazed expression on his face was certainly a terrifying sight to behold.

"Well we honey badgers are ever tougher," he yelled as he surged forward, grabby hands outstretched to grab the tuft of hair upon the larger hyena's head and neck. The hyena howled in fear and pain as he felt the claws jab into his fur and legs straddle his neck. Bunga just hollered out more taunts and laughed as he soon found himself in a hyena rodeo.

The other hyena, once seeing the condition his companion was in, chose it was best for him to leave while the honey badger was distracted. However, he had no idea that he also was being distracted until he also found himself in an uncomfortable position beneath the heavy, glaring form of a lion cub. He swallowed fearfully as the lion, who he recognized as the one he had chased a few days ago, now had him pinned beneath.

Kion growled, baring his teeth before the hyena's scared face, even snapping close to his eyes. The hyena whimpered in terror, squirming to get away. Kion let off if him, watching as the hyena darted away in fear, his original cause for fighting and being here forgotten.

"Heads up, Kion," came a voice from above and he instinctively ducked, just as a gold blur barreled into a hyena perched on top of the log, prepared to ambush him from behind. Now he yelped uncomfortably as Fuli threw her surging form at his side, throwing him off balance and off guard several feet away.

"Thanks Fuli," he called out, now positioning himself for a pounce as the hyena struggled to regain sense of his current situation. However, he never got the chance as a back pack smacked against the back of his neck, sending him falling down again, this time out cold.

"Nice work Jasiri! It looks like we might be able to win this battle without any help after all," he exclaimed confidently. The two girls nodded, smiling proudly as they noticed a few paces away Bunga hopping off the disoriented hyena, but not without leading him face-first against the bark of a nearby tree. The honey badger whooped in excitement, even proceeding to yank up some grass shoots and throw them up in the air in a flare of jubilation. The three laughed at his enthusiasm, though it quickly died as Ono's voice rang up again.

"Kion! It's Janja! He's made his way past our line of defenses and now he's making his way up Pride Rock!"

Kion's blood ran cold and the world seemed to slow down as he threw his head back towards Pride Rock. Sure enough, the head hyena was scurrying up the large, rock slab, paws scrabbling to get a grip on the smooth edge. Without thinking, he dashed forward, legs aching, yet never slowing down. His eyes narrowed in determination as he zoomed towards the base, just as Janja had worked around the situation and gotten up onto the first ledge, now climbing up towards to main platform and the den.

A furious snarl escaped his throat as he jumped up the side of the rock wall, using it as leverage to get up the slab. He skidded a bit under the tilted angle, just recovered quickly and rushed up on after the hyena, now entering the den.

* * *

Up until this point, the cubs had remained frozen in fear at the sounds of loud barks, growls and cries of alarm rose up from the unseen battle happening outside. Now, the cubs barely had a moment to scream in terror before her paw slammed over their mouths and pressed them lower.

She and the two were currently situated behind the slightly raised slab of rock laying down near the back of the den. It was typically where she and her parents slept, the elevated surface a few inches above where the others rested, though now Kiara only hoped it was high enough to obscure both her and the two quivering, frightened cubs' bodies.

They attempted to press their bodies closer to the stone ground as they had seen Janja appear in middle of the entrance, first slithering around the edge like a snake before jumping right into the middle of the entryway. Though she had only caught a short glimpse of him before ducking down, she already knew that he was quite the opponent. Far too strong and big to take on at the moment, especially with her sprained leg, bandaged neck, and lack of any real fighting skills.

 _"Great Kings, I swear if I ever make it out of this situation alive, I'm asking Vitani to teach me how to fight."_

She could only try to duck down lower and try to quiet down both her breathing and beating heart and hope he did not find her or the two beside her. She became increasingly more aware of how loud she and the cubs were, even though they remained silent. As the click of claw-extended paws came closer and closer, she pressed closer to them. If the worse happened, she would fight for herself and them till her last breath. When the sounds of footsteps finally stopped, and the air around them was deathly skills, she could feel her heart beat thumping in her chest.

The beating stopped altogether and a strangled gasp escaped her throat as the fanged, malicious grin of the hyena leader leaned above them, eyes focused on them with cruel, murderous intent.

"Found you," he said softly, voice dripping with the sadistic edge of the upcoming attack.

He bolted forward, jaws looking to snap down on the first lioness below him: her.

Legs thrusting up beneath her, she jumped back, just as his teeth missed her shoulder by an inch and instead hitting the rock floor. As he yelped at the pain racing up his nose for the third time that day, her paws rammed forward, sweeping the two petrified cubs up and flying a few feet away where they immediately broke out of their frozen trance.

"Run," she screamed, her voice almost in agony. They scrambled forward, towards the open light from the entrance. If they could just get outside, they just might have a chance to escape. They might just be able to get out-

She let out a painful roar as her back leg was pulled out from beneath her mid-jump, sending her falling down. Tears already stung her eyes at the sensation of razor sharp teeth clamped around her foot. Pained gasps and cries of anguish came up as the searing shock of being bitten ran up her leg. Claws raked across her upper back leg, exposing flesh to the air and making her scream louder. She could feel blood dripping out from the stinging wound.

Her world was already blurred with the tormenting sensation of her leg being mutilated, so she barely registered when he released it. However, everything seemed to grow numb, yet fully clear and alert at the same time, and her eyes grew wide in shock at the feeling of Janja's paws slamming down on the back of her neck, pushing her down. She could smell the scent of dirt and rotten flesh as he leaned down to her face. Saliva dripped onto her and she could feel his hot breath on her fur next to her ear.

"Going somewhere princess?"

And all of a sudden, the world turned black as a snarl broke the air.

* * *

 **Tune in next time to see what happens. -V.T.7**


	13. The Final Stand

**Chapter 13: The Final Stand**

 **Decided to get this one even faster in. Besides, I know how much you guys were on the ends of your seats by the end of the last one. I wasn't going to let you guys suffer for a month for a conclusion.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The world flashed open. White, just all white was before her vision. She couldn't hear the sound of her flesh being torn, nor could she feel the piercing of teeth on her neck, breaking her spine. It was just so white. And so disorienting.

Was this death? Had she died by the jaws of the hyena and had gone to join the Great Kings and Queens of the Past? If so, where were they? Were they here? Did they even exist, or had the stories told by her father all had been imaginative stories meant to inspire hope without any real substantial evidence? Was this even the afterlife, or was it nonexistence?

Through through the fog of her mind, through the confusion and blur her thoughts were jumbled up in, one suddenly came forward. One stood out through the rest and sparked the rest of her mind into realization.

If she was truly dead, then why did her leg still hurt like crazy?

The world around her was numb, her vision was completely blank, and her senses dulled. Still, throughout the fog that consumed her, she could faintly sense things. Her ears could barely hear anything, but it did pick up the sounds of thumbing and making light shrieks. Her paws could sense the feeling of vibrations on the ground that she felt she was laying on.

Lastly, though everything she saw was far too bright to make out anything, grey blurs did fill her vision, though she was far to disoriented to make out what they are.

All of a sudden, just as something she sensed began nudging her beside her shoulder, or at least she comprehended it as, the conscious part of her brain burst with recognition. She hadn't died, someone had saved her, yet she had been knocked senseless still.

The nudging in by her shoulder, that she now recognized was an ally trying to get her to move, increased fervently, pressing harder and harder, trying to get her to move away from the clashing blurs and their muffled growls and thuds.

Though her legs felt like they were stuck in thick mud, she forced herself to stand and stumbled forward, being blindly guided by the unknown assistant into the brighter light.

* * *

Fury boiled in his veins as he grasped onto Janja's back by his claws and teeth. Just a few moments ago, he had born witnessed to the hyena standing menacingly over Kiara's limp body, head and jaws poised over her neck, preparing to make the final strike.

Without thinking, he careened into the older, larger animal, immediately clamping onto his staggering form as Jasiri raced in to his sister's side. The male hyena instantly began thrashing, trying to buck him off. He only dug in deeper as he was thrown around wildly, hoping to allow Jasiri enough time to get Kiara out of the den and away from danger.

However, the hyena leader seemed to catch on what he was attempting quicker than he had hoped.

Taking notice of the lionesses staggering away, mostly being carried by that traitorous, vile female who dared to assist the same creatures responsible for banishing their kind into years of suffering, he now took matters into his own paws. First starting with this irritating lion cub.

Rearing onto his hind legs, he allowed himself to fall on his back, crushing the lion cub beneath him. He felt the grasp the cub had on his back loosened, but did not completely let go. Smirking, he rolled over and leaned his weight to the side, making sure the cub was slammed head on into the nearby cave wall. The sudden impact caused him to release his grasp on his back and fall down painfully onto the stone floor.

Turning around to face the incapacitated cub, he considered momentarily of finishing him off, here and there. How incredible would it feel to finally end this bothersome cub's life? A vicious smile came onto his face as his mind pictured the horrified expressions on the pride's face, of the pride leader's face, once they came home to the sight of the young Guard leader's corpse, lying cold and still in a pool of his own blood on the den floor.

Still, the purpose of the main goal soon made itself known once more. He hadn't come to finish off the puny royal spare, the main prize was the princess. Weakened and just perfect for him to execute. Her so-called savior could not have taken her far away from the den in such a short period of time, especially supporting all her weight.

"I'm coming for you next," he growled, relishing in the sight of the cub shivering as his silken voice, edged only by the horrific things he had planned next, glided onto his exposed back. Turning back from the debilitated cub, he ran towards the exit.

* * *

"C'mon princess, we need to get you out of here. Snap out of it," Jasiri grunted.

Even though she had trained with supporting the weight of others, the future queen's body was far heavier than any hyena pup or packmate's was. They were outside the den and were heading down the platform towards the stairs. If they could just get to the rest of the Guard where the cubs had run down towards and wait out till the rest of the pride had arrived, they might have a fighting chance.

However the fact that the princess's lack of focus and control of her limbs was so far proving to be a very serious obstacle. Though Janja hadn't done any damage to her beside ravaging her back leg, it was clear the shock of the pain and the near-death experience had caused Kiara's mind to go into a disoriented state where she had little no concentration or coordination.

Her fear for the current situation at paw only worsened when he heard the stunned yelp from Kion in the den as Janja had obviously succeeded in taking him off his back. Sure enough, the scrabbling of paws quickly reached her ears.

A growl rose from her throat as she slid Kiara off her back and careful onto the ground. Dipping her head down, she stepped forward, positioning herself protectively over the incapacitated lioness's body. If she couldn't get the princess to safety in time, she would at least fight to prevent Janja from getting to her before help did.

Sure enough the head hyena darted out of the den entrance and halted a few feet out on the platform. His head swung from the right to the left, then taking notice of her and the fallen princess standing a few feet away to the side. A viscous grin spread across his face as he assumed an offensive stance, preparing to charge forward and strike. Her claws extended out further, digging into the weathered rock beneath her. If worse came to fruition, she'd protect the princess till her last breath.

A roar seemed to split the sky as a golden streak slammed into Janja's side with a loud "No!". The cub staggered as he landed, then looking up to glare at the hyena picking himself angrily up. His face rose to glare at the cub, fangs revealing as his lips peeled back in a snarl.

"You... you just don't know when to give up, do you?" he growled, his eyes betraying the rage his form was literally shaking with. "Why don't you just give up? You know you can't win."

Kion's form stiffened, yet his eyes never lost their focus on Janja's body, especially as he began to creep closer slowly.

"You really think that you, a lowly, insignificant cub, just a worthless spare to the throne, has a smidgen of a chance to beat me." Jasiri could see Kion's teeth clench as the hyena let out a cruel, barking laugh. "Oh please, you couldn't even stand up to me and my pack in the Elephant Graveyard. What makes you think you have a greater chance here?"

"Because now, more than ever, it matters to keep you from hurting anyone else ever again," Kion blurted out, glancing quickly towards the two girls several feet beside him. "You may have almost taken me out when I was in your domain, but now you're in mine. You're on Pridelands grounds now, on Pride Rock. I am the leader of the Lion Guard, the Pridelands's fiercest. The defender of the Pridelands, of Pride Rock, of the Circle of Life!" His stance grew as he gained more confidence in his voice.

"You may have gotten me off guard before, but I will not allow you to do do again. I am sworn to protect the Pridelands and its inhabitants, and I will not let you anywhere near my sister, my family, my friends, or anyone else under my protection." The cub took a deep breath before staring directly into Janja's eyes, his voice, stance, and gaze unwavering. "I am giving you one last chance. Take you and your pack and leave the Pridelands, never to return again."

Jasiri watch intently as the hyena's eyes seemed to glaze over as he took in the lion's words and stand. A chill ran up her spine as he closed his eyelids and a collection of short and low, yet frightening chuckles escaped past his lips.

"Oh really? Well then... allow me then to explain to you something very important about us hyenas."

The hyena leader suddenly reared up, claws scratching at the air before his paws slammed down onto the stone beneath him with a loud thud. His head dipped as his hackles rose. When he finally looked up they could only stiffen in fear at the cold, viscous expression written across his face. Wrathful fury swirled in the depths of his eyes as he bared his teeth.

"We hyenas never take orders from lions."

Though the intimidating sight before him disturbed him greatly, Kion's stance only grew more stoic. He inhaled sharply before addressing him with the firmest voice he could muster.

"In that case, I have no choice but to remove you from this place myself." He tried not to flinch as the hyena only laughed harder, his voice reaching insane levels of terrifying volume.

"So be it then."

Jasiri let out a cry of alarm as Janja sprung forth with a snarl, murderous intent written across all his features. Still, Kion did not pay heed to either of them. Instead it was focused on the strength he felt welling up inside of him, within his heart, within his very soul. A power he had not felt since the day Bunga had found himself in a deadly situation. He felt it spreading throughout him, filling his chest with power. It surged through him like a waterfall, yet was warm and welcoming like he was stepping into an area of warm sunlight after being placed in the cool shade for so long.

His toes curled as he felt the power well up inside him, filling throughout every single fiber of his being. It now swelled within his lungs, in his throat, in his mind. He knew it was now time to release his true power inside.

His eyes opened, revealing a pair of glowing, orange eyes. Janja's own widened in shock as the cub leaned back, as if preparing to thrust himself forward. The world around them seemed to rumble with an untapped power that needed to release, as the cloud gathered above Pride Rock and the winds started to pick up. As he grew within inches of the cub, now preparing to swing his form forward, he knew he had made the wrong decision.

Kion opened his mouth and roared.

The sky exploded with the sound. The heavens opened, the previous kings of the past coming forth and joining in unison with the voice of the Lion Guard's leader. The sheer volume and power of the roar blasted throughout the air, surging forward, past the cub, right towards the hyena who so foolishly chose to jump right in front of him.

The force of the roar was enough to send him flying off the edge of Pride Rock, soaring through the air for a great length until he was just a dark speck in the distance where he landed.

Beneath them all, at the base of Pride Rock, the battled still, all eyes drawn to the tip of the landmark where the bearer of the roar stood, and to the sky where the silhouettes of the Great Kings joined in. While the Guard stood in awe of the phenomenal display of power, the hyenas immediately were struck with fear. Taking notice that their leader was already far, far away and was now retreating back to the borders, they took the notion to retreat as well. The rest of the Guard cheered as they witnessed them dash for the Elephant Graveyard, whimpering with their tails in-between their legs.

* * *

As the roar and the wind died down, Kion stood on the very tip of Pride Rock, watching as his enemies fled. His eyes were aglow with power, the mark on his shoulder gleaming as well, and a heavy pant at his mouth.

"Kion?"

His head turned back over his shoulder. Jasiri had stepped up, the Guard and his sister right behind her. Slowly, the light faded from his eyes and shoulder, and a smile came across his face.

"We did it," he whispered, as if he was still afraid that his voice could still blast them back. Immediately, any concern on their faces vanished, replaced with the realization that they were victorious.

"We did it," Bunga repeated, before he began hopping around with enthusiasm. "We did it! We did it!" He then stopped and pointed towards Beshte. "Big B, you were awesome, what with all your heavy lifting and the charging into those hyenas." Beshte's ears wiggled in delight and his smile seemed to grow even wider if that even was possible.

"And you Fuli, you were awesome with your quick time attacks and how you threw dust into their eyes before kicking them away." The cheetah swelled up with pride.

"Ono, you always kept an eye out for us and we never got one hit because of your alerts." Ono bashfully hid his blush under his wings.

"And you Jasiri, you were just too cool. It was awesome how you knew all the attacks the hyenas had right before they even knew it. Also, you helped us take them down, it was just too awesome!" Jasiri smirked, but even her stance could not betray the pride written across her face.

"And you Bunga. I must admit that your random, unpredictable nature was very amusing and quite effective in confusing the enemy," she replied, watching him puff out his chest in pride with a smug expression.

"Yeah, I was pretty awesome out there too," he bragged, before losing the egotistic facade with a fit of giggles, joining in with the others.

"And you Kion," he started again, turning towards the lion cub that had so far had been silent till now. "You roar, that was... that was just-"

Kiara," Kion asked, breaking of from the celebration. Everyone frozen though quickly let him pass to move towards the side of Pride Rock. Kiara was leaning against the stone wall beside the den's entrance, eye closed and breathing deeply.

"Kiara," he asked again, trying not to cringe as he saw her shiver with each breath and the sight of her damaged leg splayed out beneath her. He edged in close, nudging her face with his own.

He flinched back as she suddenly let out a series of short coughs, followed by a shaky intake of air. He froze again as her front paw suddenly came up to his face, but he relaxed as it gently pressed against her face. Weakly, her eyelids opened. Her pupils were slightly blurred, but she focused them on him. A small smile crept onto her face.

"I knew you could do it," she breathed out. A shaky breath of his own escaped his throat and he immediately pulled out of her hold, only to press against her neck in a firm embrace.

"I was so worried I'd lose you," he whimpered against her form. Her warm, still alive form. He could feel he shift slightly and wrap her leg around his back.

"But you saved me," she murmured. Her eyes then opened again, directing towards the Guard and Jasiri still standing a few feet away. "You all saved me, and the cubs. Thank you."

"Princess Kiara," came a sudden squeaky pair of voices. All eyes turned towards a small crevice between two of the boulders forming the steps to Pride Rock where two head popped out, followed quickly by the rest of the body. They both scrambled up the rest of the way towards her, mindful not to step onto her broken leg.

"Are you okay," Tiifu inquired, her form still ridden with shock from the battle.

"Did we win," Zuri added, her eyes now intently staring at the Guard and the _hyena_ standing a few paces away. Kiara smiled softly at them and patted them gently on the head, watching as they immediately calmed down.

"I'm fine, thank you. You have the valiant and courageous efforts of my brother, the Lion Guard, and Jasiri to thank for that." Perking up at her words, both cubs turned towards each other before nodding. They turned and sat right beside each other, dipping their heads respectively before their saviors.

"Thank you," they said in unison.

"You're welcome," they chorused back.

"Kiara!" Another voice pierced the air, sending a shock down everyone's spine. A flash of orange and blues passed in front of everyone before lighting down with panting breaths before the young queen.

"Your highness," Zazu said, wincing at the sight of her injuries and sluggish form. "I came as soon as I could. Your father and Kovu are almost here, and the pride will arrive shortly."

The princess wearily nodded. A soft moan escaped her throat as she forced her legs to stand up. Almost everyone there dove in the support her as her legs buckled, and with a strained breath she managed to it down on her one good back leg. She exhaled sharply, her fur twitching in places.

"Thank you Zazu. Go tell my father and Kovu that the danger has passed. Pride Rock, the cubs, and myself are safe and that it is all thanks in part due to the valiant efforts of Lion Guard and Jasiri."

The majordomo nodded, taking a quick moment to look towards the saviors of Pride Rock. His eyes looked curiously over at the Guard, acknowledging each and every one of them. As his line of sight fell to Jasiri though, he stiffened, yet did not protest, instead turning right back to Kiara.

"R-right away, your majesty," he stuttered, before quickly taking off.

"And I suppose that mean I should take my cue to leave as well," Jasiri then piped up, already beginning to stroll past the others. As she started to go past Kiara though, a paw suddenly stuck out and blocked her chest, preventing her from moving any further.

"Where do you think you're going, Jasiri?" The hyena's head turned in confusion towards the princess's playfully devious expression. "If I recall correctly, the last time we met I specifically granted you and your pack the opportunity to stay here in the Pridelands, provided I first get the approval of my father and future consort. And technicality since you did save both me and Kion from Janja and his pack, that technically makes you quite the candidate for getting accepted into the Pridelands. Isn't that right Kion?"

"She's right Jasiri," Kion agreed, walking up to her. "You could totally get my dad and brother's approval now." The hyena suddenly appeared bashful, dipping her head downwards and rubbing her front leg nervously.

"Oh, I don't know. Hyenas and lions have never really had good terms with one another, especially over the past couple of years. Besides, I should really be getting back to my pack anyways." She gave a startled gasp as Kion suddenly reared up and placed his front paws on her shoulder, his facing looking up at her with a determined grin.

"Don't worry, after we tell my dad and brother how much you've helped us out, they'll sure to warm up to you guys immediately. Look!" His paw pointed to where their silhouettes were in the grass, rapidly approaching. "There they come now. I'll just go down to tell them about you."

"Hey Kion. Kion! Wait," Jasiri called out, but it was too late as the cub was immediately scampering down the rock steps towards them. Bunga was close in tow, eager to share the exciting news with his friend. Jasiri could only sigh as she turned back to the princess and the rest of the Guard.

"I guess I have choice then to meet with your family then, huh," she asked, already fully knowing the answer. Kiara nodded, but placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder.

"Don't sweat about it. With your background history and our first-paw accounts, you're sure to make a positive, if not surprising first impression on them." Jasiri groaned, her eyes mockingly rolling back in her head.

"And you've got us too Jasiri," Fuli said, stepping up alongside her.

"Right," Ono continued. "Definitely," Beshte added. "And you have us too," two more voices piped up. Jasiri turned down to see the two little cubs by her paws, now much less fearful and more grateful of their savior hyena. A small smile quirked at the corners of her mouth before she turned back up to the others.

"Well... sure. Why not? Could be interesting to say the least," she said, trying to sound casual over her nervousness. She perked up at the sudden weight upon her back and turned, eyes widening in amazement at the little blonde cub that had suddenly hopped onto her back.

"Well then, let's go," she giggled. Jasiri nodded and started to move but not before bending down at the feeling of the more orange-colored cub's paws on her side, asking permission to ride as well. With a small chuckle, Jasiri eagerly let the other cub join before walking carefully down the stairs where the others were.

* * *

 **I do feel that if Jasiri had been in the in the film, we'd get a little more character development, as well as set up some preexisting relationships between her and the other characters. Granted they already did introduce her in the show and with a pretty good episode too, but I feel the film would be stringer if it had addressed something that the first film glossed over and actually sparked some controversy over; the role the hyenas have in the Circle of Life and in the Lion King universe itself. Ah well, at least we have dedicated members of these show, or at least the films, to rethink and show off our ideas of how alternate interpretations of the story would've went with these elements.**

 **This may be the second to last chapter of this story, just a heads up, but we'll see. anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review, and I'll see you next time. -V.T.7**


	14. Induction Day

**Chapter 14: Induction Day**

 **At long last we've reached the end of this story. Well, end-of-the-story-before-the-epilogue, but hey, it's still a chapter!**

 **Thank you so much for joining me on this ride through this story, though sorry for taking so long to complete it. When I was writing this chapter, along with the other chapters, I really tried to keep in mind that I was writing an alternate story to the Lion Guard: Return of Roar, a film that was aiming towards a younger audience, so I was keeping in mind that the story here could be a film that is meant for kids, yet the writing is decent enough that older kids, teens, and adults can enjoy as well, just like the original movies. While a worthy goal, it did make things a bit more difficult since some darker and more thought-provoking themes and such could definitely be explored through his story, and by extension the whole series, yet still need to keep in mind the rating I put this story under. Anyways...**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

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Tranquility was a sight most commonly found cross the savanna on days like these, yet on this certain day there was an extra feeling of excitement buzzing in the air. Every animal the smallest jerboa to the largest elephant was on a path towards the Prideland's landmark. Either from hearing others talk or from the royal majordomo's beak himself, the word was that king Simba had an announcement to make and had requested every animal, from the tall to the small, to come to Pride Rock.

To many creature's, the reason to why they were being summoned was a mystery to them. After all, the only events worthy of the king calling for a full Pridelands' attendance were either for royal events, such as the announcement of the birth of a new heir, marriage, or coronation of a royal, or in a state of emergency, such as when King Mohatu, Simba's great grandfather and one of the Pridelands' earlier kings, called the animals together to discuss the best solution for surviving through a drought.

However, while many were left to ponder what was the purpose of this assembly, a few already knew or had a very good guess of what it could be.

As customary for these meetings, the king would present himself after waiting for the population to arrive before getting straight to the matter at hand. Every creature could contest that the king of the Pridelands was a magnificent specimen, not only inheriting his father's strong stature and dashing looks, but also his ideals of fairness, kindness, and justice. He stood proudly on the precipice of Pride Rock, mane billowing in the wind, feet firmly planted on the unshakable stone beneath him. He was, indeed, a model king.

However, very few were actually focusing on the king at the moment, Instead, as a few birds flying down onto the backs, tusks, and horns of herbivores pointed out, that there were quite the diverse group of creatures standing beside the king. Sure enough, several feet away from the king, there was the royal family, consisting of the queen, crown princess, and future king-consort, then further over was the prince... a cheetah, egret, hippo, and a honey badger.

"Fellow Pridelanders," came the strong voice of their king, capturing back most of audience's attention. "I thank you all for being here today. Today is a momentous day, for I have asked you all to come to witness the official implementation of the Lion Guard into service and the official recognition and induction of it's core members.

As some of you may already know, the Lion Guard is an elite group of individuals, each with great abilities and gifts, using these talents to serve and protect the Pridelands. In doing so, they not only bring honor and balance to the the Circle of Life, but also bring such things to themselves. And so, I'd like to present your new Lion Guard and its members so that they may be recognized and respected as the Prideland's guardians."

The king nodded at the guard, and slowly each of its members, even Bunga, stepped forward. A white egret with an orange crest landed beside Simba first. Simba leaned over and planted his paw upon his shoulder, mindful of his wings and feathers.

"May your eyes see far, see clearly, and see true to what dangers, what challenges, and what exciting events might lay within and outside the Pridelands. Arise Ono, the Pridelands' keenest of sight."

Ono bowed and somewhere in the crowd, a few animals cheered for him. A young cheetah with a more atypical coat pattern stepped up next.

"Let no obstacle stand in your way, let no foe be able to predict your charges, and may you never tire during your mission. Arise Fuli, the Pridelands' swiftest."

Fuli bowed modestly to the king, but almost appeared to be skipping with joy as she went to sit beside Ono a few feet beside the king. Next, to a few animal's surprise, the hippo approached next. However, Simba did not change his stance or demeanor as he had done the previous too, merely scooting back slightly to allow Beshte to be better seem to the crowd.

"In times of worry and fear, as well as in times of peace, you are the strength others rely on. You are a defender of those who are weak, a great wielder of such physical prowess, yet you are a also strong of mind and strong of heart. Beshte, I proclaim you the Pridelands' strongest."

In the crowd, beside many of the larger herbivores such as the elephants and wildebeests and rhinos, the pod of hippos had arrived and they cheered for Beshte as he made his way towards the others. And no hippo, or any other animals, was more exuberantly cheering and extremely proud then Basi, the leader of the hippopotamus pod and Beshte's father.

A small wave of chuckles came across those assembled as the next one who came up was a honey badger, and for a few of those present, a very loud and wild one at that. Still, Bunga manged to get up to Simba with his best behavior on. Simba smiled and placed his paw on his shoulder next.

"Though you face dangers great and small as you continue in your path, may you never waver in your resolve. May you act as a beacon to those who are afraid or who are lost so that they may see the way and emerge into the light. Bunga, as the bravest, may your actions make us all proud."

Behind the two, to a few animals' confusion, a warthog and meerkat had begun to weep loud and quite passionately as the Pridelands' bravest broke away from Simba with a wide smile and a quick salute before hopping over to the others.

"And lastly, I call forth my son." As Simba began speaking, Kion began to step forward. "As my second-born, it was apparent that he was destined for a great things. So when the path the Circle of Life called out for him was to be a defender and protector of it, he stepped right into the role. And while there may have been some trials and a few errors along the way, he has proven himself to be worthy of the position as the Prideland's fiercest and the leader of the Lion Guard."

As Kion stepped to the tip of the ledge, Simba turned to him a smiled warmly, before turning and placing a paw on his shoulder, right upon this mark.

"As leader of the Lion Guard, may your experiences and teachings shape your knowledge and wisdom as time passed. Let your beliefs in the Circle of Life never fail and that your understanding of it only grow. In events where you alone are not enough to solve the problems before you, never forget that you have both your friends, your teammates, the creatures around you, your family, and the wisdom of the Great Kings of the Past to guide you. Though you have your work cut out for you and your team, never forget who you are and your place in the Circle of Life."

As the animals reared up to cheer for the young prince, even among the commotion and noise, Kion could still make out the words of his father whispering, _"and never forget that I am proud of you son."_

Then Simba turned and nodded to the other four members to step up and stand beside Kion. Together, the newly officiated Lion Guard stood proudly before the entire Pridelands, bathed in the shining light of the heavens above, as if the Great Kings of the Past were smiling down upon those below.

Kion looked around as the who world seemed to be aglow and alive. The entire Pridelands lay before him, and he was ready and to able to serve and protect. Beside him, he had the support of his friends, and behind him he had the strength and support of his family. He could feel the joy and pride swelling up inside of him, filling him with such contentment and such triumphant jubilation.

With a deep breath, he roared out to those below, the voices and strength of the Great Kings of the Past roaring along with him.

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 **Please leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, I have one more left, and I'll see you later- v.t.7**


	15. Epilogue

**Chapter 15: Epilogue**

 **Here's the epilogue, finally we've reached the end. Thank you everyone who stood with me till the very end, you guys are so amazing and thank you so much for all the support for the story from you guys.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

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 _Epilogue_

 _Several months later_

In the Pridelands, on warm, sunny days like today, there was an aura of tranquility swept across the savanna. The air was rich with the scent of foliage and had relaxing effect on those who breathed it in. The breeze was gentle and brought a nice wisp of coolness to the Pridelands' inhabitants. Peacefulness also swept through the animals with the breeze. Predators and birds alike rested in the shade, while hippos lazily paddled in the watering hole. Grazers and browsers took to the plains and trees, feeling comfortable enough to munch on the foliage without fear of being hunted. Throughout the Pridelands there was peace and serenity.

However, in the previous months, such events such as today had become exceedingly rare. Though the Pridelands had recently welcomed a new Lion Guard, there had also been a new party to welcome into, although many did not feel so eager to welcome them back in.

To many of the Pridelander's shock, a few days after the ceremony, the royal family had recently allowed a small clan of hyenas to be integrated into the Pridelanders.

Though they were a small clan of around seven hyenas, five adults and two pups, the sight of any hyenas had sent chills down many of the Pridelander's spines and their heart racing a million miles per minute. Hyenas had not been welcomed into the Pridelands since the end of Scar's reign, and since then they had been exiled and only were spotted when they were trespassing. For many, the presence of hyenas brought back suppressed memories of being chased mercilessly, friends and family members falling without warning, without reason, and eventually them becoming so great that it forced almost every one of them out of the Pridelands as a matter of survival. And now, a new rule, put out by the next queen of the Pridelands, approved by the current rule of the Pridelands, and endorsed by the Lion Guard, this small pack of seven were now allowed to take up permanent residence on Prideland soil.

To say many of the animals were uneasy by this scene before them was to put it simply. To say the range of emotions running high started at confused, went through unsettling, and occasionally ended at furious would be a better explanation. It would take quite the justification by the royal family to settle the rising tensions here.

And, to many creature' shock, the process had been going along a lot smoother then expected. Not only had the Lion Guard given their examples and experiences with this specific clan, but the next queen had been very diplomatic and reasonable in presenting her reasons in why the clan should be rewarded for their dedication to the Circle of Life, as well as their one member's loyalty and bravery in her defense for the queen. For her clan, Jasiri had been named ambassador for hyena-lion relations and would thus serve as spokesperson and mediator for her pack.

While some creatures were still wary about Jasiri's clan being neighbors with them, as well as the hard-to-process revelation that apparently there were more then one hyena clans that previously occupied the Outlands, creating a positive image for the Pridelands' hyena pack was going slowly, yet there was some progress.

However, yet while a day like today was a time of peace and relaxation for the Pridelands' inhabitants, for some, a day like this was not a holiday. For the royal family, the last few months were used as preparation for the coronation that would be held just a mere three days from now. Kiara had managed to complete her solo hunting trip, on record, and had successfully caught a an impressive kill, a young kudu.

Since then, the last days had been just finishing up both her and Kovu's lessons of the Circle of Life and their duties to it and the Pridelands. And in the last couple of days, the entire pride had been in a flurry trying to organize things the big day. A feast was being planned, the word was still being spread to all the Prideland's inhabitants, distant family members and close family friends were actually travelling from over great distances to be there, though most notably at the moment...

"Kion! Come sit with us at the ceremony!"

The poor lion cub was streaking across the savanna, in hot pursuit by the two self-proclaimed 'ladies in waiting' of the soon-to-be-queen, and possible future seat-holder next to the Prideland's prince.

"Leave me alone," Kion yelled, hoping to lose the two by jumping over a large mud puddle. However, he underestimated their intelligence and determination, as the two each threw a piece of bark, torn from a nearby log, into the middle of the puddle, and hopped onto it before hopping onto he other side. Wincing at their clever counter-maneuver, Kion quickly searched for another way to escape form them.

And that solution came around the next bend, in the form of a lone hyena resting in the shade next to some bushes. Her eyes widened slightly as he rushed towards her.

"Jasiri! Hide me! Don't let them see me," he panted out, quickly leaping over her relaxed from and into the bushes. She watched with an amuse expression, listening to him groan and cry out softly in pain as he landed among the bushes' scratchy and pokey branches. Still, she made no further movements, not when she was this comfy at the moment.

Turning back to where he had come from, sure enough, she had two new visitors. The two had begun to slow down and now trudged tiredly over to her, their tongues lolled out and their breaths' ragged.

"Hello Tiifu. Hello Zuri. How are you both today," Jasiri greeted politely. The two panted for a moment more before responding.

"Good. H-have you've seen... Kion by any chance," Tiifu panted out. Zuri was in no better shape to respond. "We... wanted to.. ask him... whether he'd like to sit by either of us... at Kiara and Kovu's ceremony."

"Mm," she hummed, hearing the faintest rustle of leaves behind her. Mow it was all just a matter of deciding to be a pal or being _that_ kind of pal.

"Sorry you two, I've been napping here for the past hour and I haven't seen him. I did feel a quick breeze and heard some footsteps and few seconds earlier though. Could've been Kion," she nonchalantly replied. The two cubs sighed, but did nod gratefully.

"Well thanks anyways. C'mon Zuri, maybe he's headed towards the Watering Hole," Tiifu urged. Zuri sighed exhaustively once more, but quickly followed after her friend. Jasiri watched as they darted off before softly whistling at the bush behind her.

"Coast is clear, though really would it be that hard to sit down with the two at the ceremony," she asked as she stood up. The cub soon emerged from the plant, covered in sticks, leaves, and a few scratches. He quickly shook them off and rolled his eyes at the hyena before him.

"Well you don't have to deal with them all the time," he shrugged. Jasiri smirked and tilted her head at him.

"I have two younger cubs in my pack and I can guarantee what you have to put up with the girls your age is nothing compared to babysitting the two of them." She glared a moment more at him before turning with a sassy flick of her tail. "By the way your welcome." She then stretched her legs and laid down again.

"Thank you," he replied quietly. "How has your pack been lately?" She titled her head again, then shrugged.

"Good I guess, Things have definitely been easier since you and your family have allowed us to stay her. I mean there still has been some uneasiness from the other animals, what with us being... hyenas you know, but aside front hat things have been... alright here. The pack is thriving, the cubs can grow up in a better environment then the Outlanders.,,." she paused fora moment, "and I never knew life could be so pretty here," she softly admitted, more to herself then to him. Sensing the change in tone, he walked over and laid down across from her. She took notice of it and smirked.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on patrol with the rest of the Guard? With Kovu and Kiara getting ready for their coronation, they need you to fulfill basic duties in the meantime."

Smirking back, he simply closed his eyes and laid his head down on his paws. "I'm the leader of the Lion Guard, I can call out breaks when needed."

Jasiri merely chuckled and laid her head down as well.

It was says like this that really made life feel worthwhile.

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 **AND DONE! My six month project is finally over. What started as an anonymous reviewer story request turned into a full-length story that follows along the guidelines of the original story, yet connects a bit better with the** ** _original_** **original story.**

 **Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed the story. Despite many late deliveries, due to real-life things and revisions of the plot, I did try to give you my best work. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the story and look forward to future stories that I have planned. See you later- v.t.7**


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